Podcasts about even paul

Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form! TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: 2 Sam 19-20; Ps 55; Matt 28 Click HERE to give! Get Free App Here! One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on 'The Daily Radio Bible' for a daily 20-minute spiritual journey. Engage with scripture readings, heartfelt devotionals, and collective prayers that draw you into the heart of God's love. Embark on this year-long voyage through the Bible, and let each day's passage uplift and inspire you. TODAY'S EPISODE: Welcome to the Daily Radio Bible! In today's episode, “May 11th, 2025 Heather,” Heather guides us through day 131 of our journey through the scriptures, inviting listeners from around the world to gather around the warmth of God's love. Together, we read from 2 Samuel 19-20, Psalm 55, and conclude with Matthew 28, reflecting on King David's tumultuous return to power, a psalmist's cry for help, and the earth-shaking hope of Jesus' resurrection. With Mother's Day as a backdrop, Heather shares personal reflections on grief, hope, and the mystery of resurrection, drawing inspiration from her own family's recent loss. She beautifully connects the promise of transformation found in scripture with the journey of saying goodbye to loved ones, and invites us to rest in the hope of restoration and new life. The episode closes with powerful prayers for peace, guidance, and unity, as well as the encouragement to carry God's love into the world. So grab your Bible, settle in, and let's discover together the sustaining love and hope found in God's story—and remember: you are loved. TODAY'S DEVOTION: Resurrection and the Mystery of Transformation I don't think I have ever considered the resurrection of Jesus and Mother's Day at the same time. But as we celebrate Mother's Day today, there are many of us whose mothers are no longer with us. Hunter and I, along with many of our family, gathered around my mother's grave site this last weekend as we laid her ashes to rest alongside my dad's, his brothers, and their parents. My mom has been enveloped into the great mystery, the true home that we will only discover when we finally shed this earthly husk and are transformed. But transformed into what? Even Paul struggled to understand or know it. In his attempts to describe it, he used the example of the everyday seed, a tiny dry brown microcosm of life, which only blooms in full beauty when it has been nestled into the dark soil. There, through water, sun, and light, it finally emerges into a new life-giving plant, looking nothing like the thing it started as. And in its transformation, it takes its unique place in an ongoing participation of life. We are part of this great mystery, which those who have gone before us are discovering, connected through the sustaining life of our loving creator. For now, we experience the heat of the sun, the droughts, the weeds that seem to threaten, even as we learn to cast off our dry husk, yearning to be fully fruitful, fully alive. Ours is to trust in the process of change, resting in the hope of transformation and restoration. We are the small dry seed, the life of the creator deep within us, only fully transformed as we settle into the earthy soil, trusting in the great hope that resurrection will come. Buried in brokenness, raised in glory; buried in weakness, raised in strength. That's a hope and a mystery I hold for my own soul, for my family, and for all who hear these words today. May we live in the light of resurrection, trusting the God who brings life from the dust, and in His promise that we, too, will be made new. TODAY'S PRAYERS: Lord God Almighty and everlasting father you have brought us in safety to this new day preserve us with your Mighty power that we might not fall into sin or be overcome by adversity. And in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose  through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen.   Oh God you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and sent your blessed son to preach peace to those who are far and those who are near. Grant that people everywhere may seek after you, and find you. Bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit on all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.   And now Lord,  make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon.  Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.  Where there is darkness, light.  And where there is sadness,  Joy.  Oh Lord grant that I might not seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.  For it is in the giving that we receive, in the pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in the dying that we are born unto eternal life.  Amen And now as our Lord has taught us we are bold to pray... Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Loving God, we give you thanks for restoring us in your image. And nourishing us with spiritual food, now send us forth as forgiven people, healed and renewed, that we may proclaim your love to the world, and continue in the risen life of Christ.  Amen.  OUR WEBSITE: www.dailyradiobible.com We are reading through the New Living Translation.   Leave us a voicemail HERE: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible Subscribe to us at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dailyradiobible/featured OTHER PODCASTS: Listen with Apple Podcast DAILY BIBLE FOR KIDS DAILY PSALMS DAILY PROVERBS DAILY LECTIONARY DAILY CHRONOLOGICAL  

You've probably heard it before that everyone has a gift. That's true — especially within the Church. Every true believer has a spiritual gift granted unto them by the Holy Spirit to further the cause of the Church and defeat the forces of the Enemy on the planet.In this episode, Lori from Remnant Rising joins us to describe the spiritual gifts we have and how they affect us in real, powerful ways. She also tells us how to discover our spiritual gifts and practice them so that they do not atrophy. Hiding our gifts is a victory for the Enemy!If you want to discover your spiritual gifts and think you have the true faith needed to edify the Church on earth, tune in to this episode.Here are three reasons why you should listen to this episode:Discover the spiritual gifts granted to you by the Holy Spirit.Learn how your spiritual gifts empower you to defeat the Enemy and share the truth of God's Word.Understand what it means to have true faith in Jesus Christ and how to utilitlize the Spiritual gifts God has intended.Want to be part of what God is doing through the Revelations Podcast? You can contribute here!ResourcesMore from the Revelations Podcast: Website | Instagram | Apple PodcastLori:  https://www.instagram.com/remnantrising5.0/Get Lori's New Book- Live Like a Champion-https://loribrazier.com/Bible Verses:Ephesians 4:11-12Ephesians 5:111 Cor 12:1-111 Cor 1:4-7Hebrews 11Joshua 10Deuteronomy 322 Timothy 1:6Ezekiel 4:7Romans 12:1-81 Peter 4:9-11Prophetic Warrior by Emma StarkThis Episode is brought to you by Advanced Medicine AlternativesGet back to the active life you love through natural & regenerative musculoskeletal healing: https://www.georgekramermd.com/Episode Highlights[04:49] Lori's Childhood and Remnant RisingLori started Remnant in 2020 using a personal page that doubled as a business page. She thought of the title “Remnant Rising” in the evening while talking to God.She says that several of her online accounts were deleted. She believes it's because she thinks she's exposing truths people want to keep hidden.Lori refuses to consider what other people think due to the power of her conviction and faith.[16:10] Lori: “The bottom line is to further the Kingdom. It's to edify the Church and further the Kingdom.”[16:41] The Source of Spiritual GiftsWhen we place our faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to live within us and gives us a new perspective on everything.We also receive special abilities to use for the Kingdom.Every person is given a gift based on their faith.Lori believes that spiritual gifts empower us, and says that we are “weaponized” by Heaven.[25:49] Understanding Supernatural RevelationsLori describes “rhema words” — passages or words that you read that just jump out at you with their power.[27:07] Reagan: “It's sometimes in word of knowledge and information that the Lord wants us to pray about or think about.”According to Lori, God knows what you need and will send it to you.God will use anyone to send you His message.[30:04] Who Has Spiritual Gifts?Every believer has at least one spiritual gift. Believers with the gift of faith help encourage others to trust God.Prophecy is another spiritual gift that allows people to speak in the language of Heaven.Deliverance from demons is a gift from the Holy Spirit.Lori fully believes that faith gives us the divine strength to alter the natural outcomes of life in a supernatural way through prayer.Healings are miracles, but miracles are more than just healing. Examples include the parting of the Red Sea and Daniel being saved from lions.[42:05] Examples of Spiritual GiftsProphecy is just the ability to speak God's message and explain it. Lori doesn't want to say she's a prophet, but says she can prophesy as a teacher.Some people can also discern spirits and see spiritual influences in places, people, or decisions.Still others can speak in tongues — the Heavenly language.Listen to the full episode for more examples of spiritual gifts.[56:46] Desiring More of the SpiritBefore prophesying, we must hear the Lord's Word.[57:52] Lori: “We have to learn to listen, we have to learn to be quiet, because it's hard to just shut off your mind and not have some other agenda.”The more we practice our gifts, the closer we can get to understanding.It's possible to pray for spiritual gifts if it comes from a place of true faith.Even Paul instructs us to earnestly desire these gifts.[1:08:11] How to Discover Your Spiritual GiftsThere are online tests people can take to help discern their spiritual gifts.Several verses in the Bible list samples of spiritual gifts. Reading the Bible can help you discover yours.Lori believes that spiritual gifts exist today — despite what other sources of information might tell us.About LoriLori is an author of two books and loves to study scripture. Connect with Lori on InstagramEnjoyed this Episode?If you did, subscribe and share it with your friends!Post a review and share it! If you enjoyed tuning in, then leave us a review. You can also share this with your friends and family. This episode will educate you on becoming aware and discerning the hidden truths in today's world.Have any questions? You can connect with me on Instagram.Thank you for tuning in! For more updates, tune in on Apple Podcasts. 

Wednesday, 9 April 2025   Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. Matthew 9:10   “And it was, He – reclining in the house. And, you behold! Many taxmen and sinners, having come, they co-reclined with Jesus and His disciples” (CG).   In the previous verse, Jesus called on Matthew to follow Him, which he did. Now, the narrative continues with, “And it was, He – reclining in the house.”   The NKJV, following the KJV, incorrectly includes the name of Jesus. It simply says, “He.” Further, a new word, anakeimai, is used. It comes from ana, up, and keimai, to lie. Thus, it means to recline. It is true that this was normally at a dinner table, but it doesn't say that, despite many translations inserting that into their translation.   Luke 5:29, however, does reveal that this was a dinner. There, it says, “Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house.” Matthew, being the author, does not draw attention to himself but leaves this notable detail for others to include.   While reclining at a meal, which may have included any sort of talk, Matthew next records, “And, you behold! Many taxmen and sinners.”   These words include a second new word, hamartólos, sinners. The word comes from the verb hamartanó. It means to miss the mark and thus err. Erring before God is sin. These were people who were defined by missing the mark. Thus, they were the type who sat in the bars all night, caroused with women, stole, prostituted, etc.   Matthew lumps the taxmen in with sinners. In doing this, it shows the really disgraceful nature of the business he was in. One can see that he shied away from the more noble details, but he was unafraid to include himself in the details that highlighted the base nature of his previous life.   These sinners were people living their lives without considering their position before God. It appears that Matthew was so excited about his calling and his new direction in life that he wanted those he associated with to also know about Jesus and to meet Him personally. Therefore, “having come, they co-reclined with Jesus and His disciples.”   Here is a third new word, sunanakeimai. It is formed from the same word translated as reclined above, but it is prefixed by sun, meaning together or with. Thus, they joined in reclining. Saying co-reclined gets the point across.   Life application: Matthew's words give us some great insights into how we too should conduct our lives. We were all sinners before God, having lived lives that marked us for condemnation. And yet, by His grace, we have been brought near through the blood of Christ.   Why should we shy away from admitting our past and using it to show others how far we have come? Some in churches think they are so holy that they can ignore the fallen plight of others and revel in their own supposed goodness. But according to the Bible, that is a ridiculous proposition. Even Paul, who was a Pharisee, admitted his past was just like everyone else –   “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.” Ephesians 2:1-3   Another point about Matthew's words is that he didn't just admit his past and move on. Rather, he joyfully brought the sinners he associated with to a meeting with Jesus. What is the point of getting saved and then secluding yourself away from the very people who need him as you once did?   But this is the doctrine of so many churches. It is as if a clean break from the past is necessary to make one holy. Paul again says otherwise –   “I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. 10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.” 1 Corinthians 5:9, 10   Paul understood that we live in a fallen world, and we had every right and responsibility to associate with those who were unsaved. In fact, Paul's duties as a missionary would have been completely pointless if he only went to believers... because there were none where he normally went.   Rather, Paul continues in his epistle saying –   “But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.” 1 Corinthians 5:11   The people we need to avoid are those who profess to be Christians but who do not live up to the standard they are called to. Too often, the church gets this completely upside down.   Glorious God, may we do what is right and proper in Your presence. When we fall short, may we acknowledge it and press on in Your grace. But help us to remember to bring along those who have not yet known You or Your grace. May we faithfully witness concerning Your goodness to those around us. Amen.  

Today, we're diving into a topic that's crucial for every believer: the role of wise counsel in our spiritual journey. Life is filled with decisions—some small, some life-changing—and the voices we listen to can shape the direction of our faith. How do we discern the right guidance? What does Scripture say about the importance of seeking godly advice? Let's get to work.Our springboard for today's discussion is: Proverbs 11:14—"Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety."This verse reminds us that seeking wisdom isn't a sign of weakness but of strength. Throughout the Bible, we see men and women who flourished because they listened to wise counsel. Moses relied on Jethro's advice to delegate leadership responsibilities. David had Nathan to guide him. Even Paul mentored Timothy, passing down wisdom that shaped the early church. God never intended for us to walk alone—we thrive when we have godly voices speaking into our lives.The right counsel brings clarity, discernment, and protection from costly mistakes. When we isolate ourselves, pride and confusion can cloud our judgment. But when we surround ourselves with mature believers, mentors, and spiritual leaders, we gain a broader perspective and a stronger foundation for making decisions. Wise counsel aligns with God's Word, challenges us to grow, and helps us navigate life's uncertainties with faith and wisdom.Question of the Day: Who are the wise voices in your life, and how have they helped shape your walk with God?Let's Pray: Lord, thank You for the gift of wise counsel. Surround us with mentors and godly leaders who speak truth into our lives. Give us humility to receive wisdom and the discernment to apply it well. In Jesus' name, Amen.Let's Get To Work!Support MyR2B Ministries – Your partnership helps sustain and expand this ministry. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit myr2b.substack.com/subscribe

Today, we're diving into a topic that's crucial for every believer: the role of wise counsel in our spiritual journey. Life is filled with decisions—some small, some life-changing—and the voices we listen to can shape the direction of our faith. How do we discern the right guidance? What does Scripture say about the importance of seeking godly advice? Let's get to work.Our springboard for today's discussion is: Proverbs 11:14—"Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety."This verse reminds us that seeking wisdom isn't a sign of weakness but of strength. Throughout the Bible, we see men and women who flourished because they listened to wise counsel. Moses relied on Jethro's advice to delegate leadership responsibilities. David had Nathan to guide him. Even Paul mentored Timothy, passing down wisdom that shaped the early church. God never intended for us to walk alone—we thrive when we have godly voices speaking into our lives.The right counsel brings clarity, discernment, and protection from costly mistakes. When we isolate ourselves, pride and confusion can cloud our judgment. But when we surround ourselves with mature believers, mentors, and spiritual leaders, we gain a broader perspective and a stronger foundation for making decisions. Wise counsel aligns with God's Word, challenges us to grow, and helps us navigate life's uncertainties with faith and wisdom.Question of the Day: Who are the wise voices in your life, and how have they helped shape your walk with God?Let's Pray: Lord, thank You for the gift of wise counsel. Surround us with mentors and godly leaders who speak truth into our lives. Give us humility to receive wisdom and the discernment to apply it well. In Jesus' name, Amen.Let's Get To Work!Support MyR2B Ministries – Your partnership helps sustain and expand this ministry. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit myr2b.substack.com/subscribe

Text: Prov 19:17 ESV17 Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed.-Prov 19:17 ESVBE GENEROUSThe book of Proverbs is replete with instructions to care for the poor (Proverbs 14:21; 19:7; 21:13; 29:7). Helping the needy honors God. And, a person who does charitable acts does God's will and work. He gives not to bring for himself but to glorify God. (Mat 5:16). Definitely, God will repay those who are generous. This is the implication of the term "lend. It is not necessarily with earthly wealth but spiritual blessing.God is not unrighteous to forget a person's labor of love to others.[Heb 6:10] God's repayment for the generous is foreshadowed by the words of Jesus in Matthew 25. Speaking about appearing before Him in the final judgment, Christ says to the generous, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me" (Mat 25:40). He who waters others will be watered. He said, “Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.”[Ecc 11:1]During Paul's missionary travels, he urged the believers at Corinth to give generously to the relief of poor Christians in Judea. He reminded them that Jesus set aside His riches in heaven and became poor so believers could benefit. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” (2 Cor 8:9). Even Paul writes, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? [Rom 8:32]Today is Valentine's Day. Let us ponder about Jesus' love and generosity that He gave Himself to us. May we all be freed from greediness and abound in love to be generous to the least of the brethren.-------------------------Visit and FOLLOW Gospel Light Filipino onYouTube,Facebook andInstagram

Text: Proverbs 19:1 (ESV)   Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity than one who is crooked in speech and is a fool.   INTEGRITY   How valuable is personal integrity? it is more valuable than any riches or financial gain. The "crooked speeches" in Proverbs 4:24 and 6:12 imply something manipulative, immoral, or deceptive. For having a godly wisdom, it may give a person earthly success (Proverbs 1:7; 3:1–4; 13:21). Yet, it does not claim that honesty is an invincible strategy for prosperity. Righteous people may suffer. In a corrupt world, diligent, honest, hardworking people can sometimes fall into some combination of prejudice and persecution (1 Pet 3:17; John 16:33). Thus, wealth is never worth the sin and immoral acts to obtain it. Is it? Our treasure is in heaven.[Mat 6:21]   Many first-century Christians were poor due to persecution, but the Lord did not forsake them. In our time, through no fault of their own, many Christians still are poor but not abandoned by the Lord. God promises us in Hebrews 13, saying, "Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'" Verse 6 follows to say, "So we can confidently say, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?'" Even Paul has the confidence to be contented for Jesus is his help in every situation of life.[Phil 4;11-13]   Listen and FOLLOW us on our podcast ------------------------- Visit and FOLLOW Gospel Light Filipino on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram

Text: Prov 16:20-24 ESV 20 Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD. 21 The wise of heart is called discerning, and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness. 22 Good sense is a fountain of life to him who has it, but the instruction of fools is folly. 23 The heart of the wise makes his speech judicious and adds persuasiveness to his lips. 24 Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body. -Prov 16:20-24 ESV GOOD SENSE IS A FOUNTAIN OF LIFE There is great benefit in thinking clearly and carefully. A conscious effort to be diligent when assessing something tends to yield better results that an unattention or laziness (Prov 14:15; 18:13). The most crucial aspect of clear thinking is seeking God's truth more than anything else (Prov 1:7). The most valuable "word" one can consider is the ‘Word of God' for in it are God's wisdom and understanding.[Psa 119:97–100] And, that those who love the Word also experience "great peace" (Psa 119:165). This is especially true not to those who hear only but to those who obey His word.[Jas 1:22-25] Moreover, the person with discernment will speak loving or ‘sweet' words (Prov 15:1). The same Hebrew word used for "sweetness" here is also employed later in reference to a honeycomb (v.24). The same idea is highlighted in verses 23 and 24. Truth spoken in gentler tones and phrases tends to be more easily accepted or embraced. Our example is none other than Jesus. He was always able to discern the hearts and minds of others and provide perfect answers. Christians ought to follow Jesus' example and use wise, pleasant words. Of course, this does not preclude all use of reproof or rebuke (Mat 12:33; 23:37). Even Paul has admonished us to be edifying in our words. He exhorts: "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God."[ Colossians 3:16 ] He also adds, "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person."[Col 4:6] A carefully thought word said in a loving way edifies others. In a sense, they give life to the hearer. On the other hand, rude and hurting words tear down others. Thus we pray with David, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.'[Psa 19:14] ------------------------- Visit and FOLLOW Gospel Light Filipino on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram

Becoming a long-term disciple-making and church-planting presence will require us to maintain unity. It is no secret that most churches that have been around for long have experienced disunity and division, often resulting in church splits. Even Paul's favorite church -- the Philippians! -- had a growing rift, and in 2:1-11 Paul is trying to get ahead of it. He reminds the church of all they've shared together in Jesus, and calls them fight for unity through the the pursuit of humility. Ultimately, humility is the fruit of seeing and savoring the self-emptying, self-sacrificing, saving love of Jesus! We are praying Philippians 4:19 every day at 4:19 pm (follow along in #prayer), fasting for 24 hours each week (as you are able), and giving sacrificially. Are you in? #gospelcenteredtillwedie

Why did Jesus have to die? Why did Christ's blood have to be spilled? Why did our Lord have to give his life? Was there no other way to save sinners? If you have ever asked this question, you are not the first. The twelve men who were called by Jesus, followed Jesus, and learned from Jesus also struggled with the idea that his demise was unavoidable (Matt. 16:21–22). Similarly, Israel's leaders, those who supposedly most anticipated the Messiah's arrival, took Jesus's death as proof that he was not he for whom they waited (Luke 23:35). Even Paul admits that the seemingly oxymoronic message of “Christ crucified”—that is a dead Deliverer—is “a stumbling block” to some and “foolishness” to others (1 Cor. 1:23). So, did Jesus have to die? In the second half of Hebrews 9, the author addresses this question, celebrating the necessity of Christ's death and the life-shaping difference it makes for Christ's followers of all eras.

The Son Unveiled in Me Galatians 1:10-17 by William Klock As I was digging around in our crawlspace this week, I found my 1970s Tupperware lunchbox full of my old Star Wars action figures.  Luke Skywalker and Obi Wan and Darth Vader have these neat little light sabres hidden in their arms that slide out when it's time for them to duel.  At one point I had Luke's X-wing fighter and I was remembering putting him in the cockpit and flying around the house, looking for the Death Star's thermal exhaust port.  Luke might have been in the cockpit, but I was going to destroy the Death Star and save the galaxy.  As the week went on I was thinking about our text from Galatians 1and particularly Paul's background.  I started wondering what sort of games and role-playing young Paul would have engaged in?  Who were his heroes?  Based on what he tells us about himself and from what we know of First Century Judaism and of the Pharisees, it isn't too hard to imagine Paul playing with his brothers or his neighbourhood friends and taking on the part of, say, Phinehas, Aaron's grandson.  When the men of Israel were enticed into sexual sin and idolatry by the pagan women of Peor, Phinehas, in an act of holy zeal, ran the ringleader through with a spear, pinning him to the ground along with his Midianite paramour.  Or maybe Elijah.  Even though it seemed that everyone in Israel had turned to pagan idols, Elijah dared to confront the prophets of Baal.  On them mountain top, Elijah taunted them and made fun of their god, then—again with holy zeal—called down fire from heaven.  Or Mattathias, the zealous priest who sparked the Maccabean Revolt.  Antiochus Epiphanes offered him the title “Friend of the King” if he would offer a sacrifice to the Greek gods.  Matthias refuse, but another priest offered to make the sacrifice in his place.  Matthias slaughtered that people-pleasing priest on the altar and called on everyone who was zealous for torah and the covenant to join him. These were the heroes of the Pharisees and all the other faithful in Israel in the days of Paul.  In light of that, it's ironic that the people in Galatia have accused him of being a “people pleaser”, because that's exactly what Paul—in his old days—would have called any Jews who weren't as zealous as him in keeping torah.  Of course, it's the false teachers in Galatia who are being the real people pleasers, but Paul won't say that until the end of the letter. So let's start where we left off last Sunday, with verse 10 of Galatians 1.  Paul has written some pretty scathing words to the Galatians.  He's outlined the essentials of his gospel and he's pronounced a curse on anyone who teaches anything else.  And now he writes: Well now, does that sound as though I'm trying to make up to people—or to God?  Or that I'm trying to curry favour with people?  If I were still pleasing people, I wouldn't be a slave of the Messiah.   It's a safe bet that when you hear someone warning about false gospels and pronouncing curses on those who teach such things, you're not dealing with a people pleaser.  Paul makes that clear.  And then he turns the accusation back on them.  “If I were still pleasing people,” he writes.  As much as Paul the Pharisee had devoted his life to going after the people pleasers who compromised torah in order to curry the favour of the gentiles, well now, from the perspective of life in Jesus and the Spirit, that old life of his turns out—ironically—to have been a life of people pleasing.  He was a slave to them even though it didn't seem that way at the time, but now he's a slave to the Messiah and his only interest is in faithfully proclaiming his message and pleasing the God who sent him. But Paul needs to explain himself a good bit more, so he does something that he doesn't do very often: he tells them—and us—about himself.  Whenever Paul does tell one of these before and after stories, it's always to end with Jesus.  He does this in Philippians 3 to make the point that for the sake of Jesus and the gospel he's given up his privileges.  What he says here comes to a climax later in Chapter 2 as he passionately declares that “I am crucified with the Messiah” so that “I through the law died to the law” because “the Son of God loved me and gave himself for me.”  In the end, none of this is about Paul.  It's about Jesus and the only reason Paul writes any of this is to defend against the charge that his gospel is of human origin and, therefore, in some way deficient.  So he begins in verses 11 and 12: You see, Brothers, let me make it clear to you: the gospel announced by me is not a mere human invention.  I did not receive it from a human being, not was I taught it; it came through an unveiling of Jesus the Messiah.   Literally, “I would have you know, Brothers”.  This is important.  Paul first defended his apostleship.  He was commissioned directly by Jesus himself and he speaks for Jesus and no one else.  Now he defends his gospel.  It's not something he cooked up himself, nor is it something he got second-hand from others. This is worth spending a little time parsing out.  The gospel that you and I know and preach came to us from others.  It was passed down from our parents and grandparents, from our Sunday school teachers and pastors, maybe from a preacher we watched on TV or a book we read.  But somehow all of us here are believers in Jesus the Messiah because someone else proclaimed the good news about him to us and now we—I hope—proclaim it to others.  Even if we first encountered the gospel through the pages of scripture, it came from some other person.  Maybe from Matthew or John or even Paul, but from someone.  Part of the work of the Spirit has been to see that this gospel has been preserved and passed down from one person to the next faithfully.  Even if you or I get it wrong, the Spirit-inspired scriptures are there to set it right again.  But Paul's point is that he didn't get the gospel from another human being.  If he'd got his gospel from someone else—even from Peter or James—it's always possible he got something confused or wrong in the transmission.  If he'd got it from another human, then it's possible their accusation could stick.  So Paul stresses: “I didn't get it from anyone else.  It wasn't taught to me by anyone else.  The gospel came to me directly through an unveiling—he uses that word apocalypse, the same one John uses to describe his “revelation” of Jesus—the gospel came to Paul through an unveiling of Jesus the Messiah.  In other words, Jesus, who was raised from the dead and now enthroned in heaven, suddenly and unexpectedly became visible to Paul.  God's future was revealed to Paul in the present and it changed everything, because Paul now can't help but see everything in light of this Jesus whom he knew to be crucified and now knows with absolute certainty, has risen from the dead.  Brothers and Sisters, the reality that Jesus rose from the dead changes everything.  It changed everything for Paul.  It should change everything for us.  It's the lens through which we should see everything. Paul surely must have told the Galatians the story of his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus.  They already knew the details so he doesn't recount them all here.  It's that they've forgotten why that day was so important to Paul, so in the next five verses he explains why that event was so important.  He writes in verse 13: You've heard the way I behaved when I was still within “Judaism”.  I persecuted the church of God violently and ravaged it.  I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my own age and people.  I was extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions.   Paul's giving them a before and after portrait of himself.  This is the “before”.  Think of Paul when Stephen was stoned to death for proclaiming the good news about Jesus.  He held people's coats so they could throw stones.  A few years later he sought out authorisation from the Jewish officials so that he could actually hunt down these Christians and bring them in for “justice”.  Paul wasn't fooling around.  It helps us understand why and it helps us understand what Saul of Tarsus was all about if we understand what he means here by “Judaism”.  To us “Judaism” means a religion the same way we think of “Christianity” or “Islam” or Buddhism” as religions.  But in the First Century no one thought that way.  Paul certainly didn't think of “Judaism” over against “Christianity”.  Paul uses this uncommon word Judaismos that seems to have been coined by the author of 2 Maccabees.  It doesn't just refer to a set of beliefs and practises in the sense that modern people think about a “religion”.  Instead, it describes the Judeans who were loyal to Jewish faith and practise, who actively promoted and advocated these traditional ways of Jewish life, and who actively defended it against the Pagans and, especially, defended it against those Jews who would compromise it for the sake of the pagans—people pleasers. As he says, he was “zealous” for those ancestral traditions.  He was out to purify the Jewish people: to fend off pagan influences, to get his fellow Jews to take a stand for the covenant, and to bring compromisers and people-pleasers to heel.  Paul had grown up with these values.  His heroes were the men of the past who were also zealous for the Lord and for his law.  There are various writings from that time period that give us a sense of how Paul would have thought.  One of the best is the opening chapters of 1 Maccabees, where we read about Mattathias and his rebellion against the Greek king Antiochus Epiphanes.  As I said before, Mattathias was a priest, and when the Greeks tried to entice him to offer a sacrifice to their gods, he refused.  When another of his fellow priests agreed to offer the sacrifice, Mattathias had had enough.  He killed that priest right there on the altar, along with the Greek official.  His rebellion went up not just against their pagan Greek rulers, but against any of their fellow Jews who were compromising the ancestral traditions in order to get along with the pagans.  Mattathias' speech meant to rouse his fellow Jews to action, focuses on the long line of Jewish heroes who were loyal to the Lord's covenant, from Abraham right down to what was the present day.  Mattathias emphasised especially Phinehas and Elijah.  The later rabbis did the same.  Phinehas had run a spear right through the compromising Zimri and his pagan paramour.  Elijah taunted the prophets of Baal before he slaughtered them and called on the people of Israel to purge pagan influence from the land.  The Maccabees called on that same tradition about two centuries before Jesus, when they went up against the Greeks and against their own people who would compromise with the pagans.  This is what Paul is talking about when he says he was zealous for the ancestral traditions.  I ran around the backyard with Luke Skywalker in his X-wing to destroy the Death Star.  If Paul had grown up with action figures, he'd have had a Phinehas with “real spear action” and an Elijah playset where he could build an altar and call down fire from heaven on the prophets of Baal.  He might have had a little Mattathias, a sword in one hand to take on the Greeks and a knife in the other to circumcise the Jewish people pleasers.  This is the zealous background that drove him to persecute the church.  Paul knew that Jesus had claimed to be the Messiah.  He knew that Jesus had been crucified.  And he didn't believe the tales for one second that Jesus had been raised from the dead.  As far as he was concerned, Jesus was dead and that meant he couldn't be the Messiah and all these Jews claiming to follow a dead Messiah, well, they were going to undermine the faith and practise of God's people. It's also worth noting how Paul refers to the “church of God”.  It's literally “assembly of God”.  Paul likes to use this phrase to distinguish the church from the Jews and from the Greeks.  He borrows it from the Greek version of the Old Testament, which talks about Israel as the “assembly of Israel”, “assembly of the Lord”, or “assembly of God”.  And Paul's point in using it to refer to the church is that now this multiethnic body of Jews and gentiles—now it is the assembly of God.  And not just the local assemblies, but it makes the point that they're all part of this bigger thing, this bigger assembly. So Paul looks back to his past life and reminds the Galatians who he was.  He was zealous for the traditions of his ancestors.  Not just that, but he was no novice.  He was a diaspora Jew, but he wasn't like some others who knew just enough of the ancestral customs to get by.  He was steeped in it all and he was utterly devoted to it—again, to the point that he actually sought out permission from the Jewish officials to hunt down Christians in Damascus.  And, of course, that's when everything changed for Paul. He goes on in verses 15-17: But when God, who set me apart from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, was pleased to unveil his son in me, so that I might announce the good news about him among the nations—immediately I did not confer with flesh and blood.  Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me.  No, I went away to Arabia, and afterward returned to Damascus.   This is another point in Paul's story where we have to be careful.  As modern people we read this and we think about it in terms of Paul “converting” from Judaism to Christianity.  Again, that's a very modern understanding of “religion” that didn't exist in Paul's day.  Paul never stopped being zealous for the God of Abraham, for the law and the prophets, and the promises of God.  He was a faithful Jew and as a faithful Jew he longed for the coming of the Messiah.  He prayed for the coming of the Messiah, for the Lord to come and rescue his people and set the world to rights.  It's just that when it came to Jesus—well—the idea of a crucified Messiah was blasphemous.  That's why he hated Christians and persecuted them.  But then the risen Jesus met him on the road to Damascus and it changed everything.  Because suddenly Paul knew that all the stories about Jesus having been raised from the dead were true.  He'd been wrong.  The impossible had happened.  The Jews and the Romans had killed Jesus, they—just as Paul had been doing—ruled him a false Messiah, but then God raised him from the dead and, in doing that, God vindicated his son.  That meant that Jesus really was the Messiah.  The God of Israel proved it.  And for Paul this meant that all the stories he'd grown up with, all the promises of God he'd longed to see fulfilled, all of it, all of them were fulfilled in Jesus. Again, Paul uses that word “unveiled” again.  This same God who had set him apart in his mother's womb, this same God who had called Paul by his grace—think of that as Paul personalizing what Jews thought of themselves as a people chosen and called by God's grace to be his people—this same God of Israel had now unveiled his son. And as Paul writes this, if you know the Hebrew scriptures, it's really obvious that he's telling his story in a way that will make people think of the old prophets, especially Jeremiah and Isaiah.  Jeremiah wrote about the Lord knowing him and calling him before he was even formed in his mother's womb.  And when Isaiah writes about the servant—the one who in some places embodies Israel and in other places stands over against the people of Israel—Isaiah writes about the Lord forming him in the womb—calling him and naming him, giving him his prophetic vocation—before he's even born.  I think Paul calls back to the calling of Jeremiah and to Isaiah's servant, because when Jesus met him on the road to Damascus he gave him just this sort of divine calling…like the servant, the Lord “formed me in the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him”.  And as the Lord said to Jeremiah, “I appoint you a prophet to the nations” and to Isaiah, “I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” So these people in Galatia are claiming that Paul has forsaken the faith and traditions of his people, but what Paul is saying in response is that, one, it was Jesus himself who called him to this work and, two, that he has in no way forsaken the faith and traditions of his people.  To the contrary, he knows those traditions well and in light of this revelation that Jesus really is Israel's Messiah, then this good news isn't just for Israel…it's for everyone.  They think that Paul, in going to the gentiles—or maybe better in the way he's going to the gentiles—they see him as a people pleaser who is disloyal to the faith and Paul's saying that, no, it's just the opposite.  His message to the gentiles is the fulfilment of that faith—the fulfilment of Israel's calling and of the law and the prophets.  Paul had thought that being zealous for the law meant opposing Jesus, when in fact, in light of Jesus having risen from the dead, being zealous for the law means being zealous for Jesus and even taking this good news to the gentiles. This transformation in Paul and in his thinking points to another thing we might miss—or, in some cases, that's obscured by some translations—but Paul says that God unveiled his son in me.  We might expect him to say to me, but that's not how he puts it.  It's in me and I think Paul chose his words—as always—very carefully.  It's not just that God commissioned Paul to proclaim the good news about Jesus to the nations, as if it was just about what he said.  It is that, but I think Paul's key point here is that Paul himself has become a sort of embodiment of the gospel.  This Pharisee who was zealous for God, but in such a way that it made him zealous in his hatred for the gentiles and any Jews who might compromise with them, this Pharisee has been so transformed by the unveiling of God's son in Jesus, that his zeal for God has been turned upside-down—or maybe we should say, right-side-up—and now that zeal is taking him to the nations with that good news. Now, it took Paul a good while to work this out.  Meeting the risen Jesus forced him into a massive paradigm shift in his thinking and even his identity.  He had questions.  Big questions.  But he stresses he didn't go to “flesh and blood” to ask his questions or to get help sorting it all out.  Again, people were accusing him of having a human-made gospel and Paul reiterates that it not only came directly from Jesus, but even in sorting it all out for himself, he went to the Lord, not to other people.  Specifically, he says, he didn't go up to Jerusalem.  That's what most people probably would have expected him to do.  That's what I would have done, if I were in Paul's shoes.  That's where Peter and James were.  They were the chief apostles and the leaders of the church.  They'd been wrestling with all this good news stuff for a while already.  They were the ones who had spent years with Jesus himself.  They had the answers. But instead, Paul says he went to Arabia—in First Century geography, that meant Mount Sinai.  Why did Paul do that?  Because, again, he knew the prophets.  This time Paul echoes the story of Elijah.  If you're a First Century man of zeal, it makes sense to follow in the footsteps of Elijah—one of the greatest heroes of zeal. Think of the story of Elijah.  After the events on Mount Carmel and Elijah's slaughter of the prophets of Baal, King Ahab was angry.  Elijah was forced to run and hide, so he ran to Mount Sinai.  It made sense.  That was the place where the Lord had made his promises to Israel.  So Elijah went there.  He was tired.  He was depressed.  Despite all the Lord had done through him, Elijah was done.  He'd lost hope.  He went there to tell God as much.  He'd done everything he was supposed to do and—he thought—he'd failed.  He declares to the Lord, “I have been very zealous for the Lord of Hosts.”  (Notice how much that sounds like Paul.)  But the Lord wouldn't let go of Elijah.  He wouldn't accept his resignation.  Instead, he sent him to the wilderness of Damascus (again, sound familiar?) and there Elijah would be given the task to anoint a new king and a new prophet. So Saul of Tarsus, zealous for the Lord, on his way to Damascus, is met by the risen Jesus.  It was the most natural thing in the world, for Paul, to go from there to Mount Sinai, to take his zeal to the Lord, and to wrestle with the God of Abraham—to work it out until it all made sense again in light of Jesus the Messiah.  And from Mount Sinai, Paul says, the Lord sent him back to Damascus (just like Elijah) to announce the new king: Jesus the Messiah. So Paul's point is that after he met Jesus, he didn't go to Jerusalem—as his enemies seem to think he did.  He didn't go to work this all out with the original apostles.  He went, as Bishop Wright puts it so well, “he went off to do business with God, and he came to do business for God.”  And this business was to announce to the whole world that this Jesus, who was crucified and risen, Israel's Messiah, is the world's true Lord.  Paul includes these echoes of the old prophets to show how rather than being a betrayer of Israel, he's actually smack in the middle of God's Israel-shaped promises.  In calling back to Elijah, Jeremiah, and Isaiah, he's making the point that if anyone is being disloyal to the God of Israel or to the covenant—well—it's definitely not him.  The real betrayers are those who reject God's calling of Paul and his commission to take the good news of Jesus to the nations. That's as far as I'll go today.  There's a bit more to Paul's introduction and his telling of his own story, but we'll look at that next week.  So what does this mean for us?  Brothers and Sisters, notice again how everything for Paul is about Jesus the Messiah and how Jesus's resurrection from the dead is the lens through which he sees everything.  It ought to be the same way for us.  We need to be clear about what the gospel is and then we need to live in that gospel, live in this story with Jesus as its centre.  The gospel is the good news that this Jesus who was crucified has been raised from the dead and that he's the world's true Lord.  His death for sins has won the victory over sin and death and inaugurated God's new creation.  Brothers and Sisters, that's the story, that's the reality we need to live with and to live in.  Consider how it reshaped Paul.  He was zealous for the Lord, he was zealous for the covenant, he was zealous for the scriptures—for all the right things, but in the wrong way.  Meeting the risen Messiah didn't mean throwing it all away; it meant refocusing that zeal through a different lens—through Jesus.  For others—I'm thinking of those who came from a zealously pagan background—inhabiting the gospel was different in that it meant throwing everything away.  Or maybe it meant seeing the world, seeing life, seeing others through the new lens of Jesus rather than the lens of the old pagan gods or their old sinful ways of life or through the corrupt systems of the present evil age.  Inhabiting the gospel and reorienting ourselves and our lives around Jesus isn't an easy thing to do.  Even Paul had to go to Sinai for three years to wrestle with the reality of the risen Jesus.  But however hard it is and however long it may take, Brothers and Sisters, it's essential that we do this—we personally and we the church.  Part of being gospel people—of being slaves of the Messiah, as Paul puts it—means taking every thought captive to Jesus the Messiah and filtering it through this gospel lens.  Every thought, every value, every priority, every act, every bit of our zeal and turning it over and turning it inside-out, deciding whether we keep it or throw it away or rethink it in light of the good news about Jesus the Messiah. Let's pray: Heavenly Father, as you've unveiled your Son in Paul, you have also unveiled him in each of us.  We pray now for the grace to be faithful to this gospel calling and this gospel life—that your Son, Jesus, would truly be unveiled to everyone around us by the gospel work you are working in us by the power of your Spirit.  Keep Jesus, his cross, and his resurrection always before us, keep our eyes focused on him, and by your Spirit, help us to truly live in your good news.  Through Jesus we pray.  Amen.

Morning Offering, September 7, 2024Every morning, join Father Brad as he begins the day with prayer and reflection. In a few short minutes, Father Brad guides you in prayer, shares a brief reflection grounding your day in the Church's rhythm of feast days and liturgy, and provides you with the encouragement necessary to go forward with peace and strength. Let us do as the saints urge and begin our days in prayer together so as a community of believers we may join the Psalmist in saying, “In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.” (Psalm 5:3-4)________________

Yesterday, a “biological male” from Algeria deemed as a woman, beat Italy's Angela Carini in a Women's boxing match at the Olympics. It's yet another example surrounding the Games of Slaughter whereby the world has been turned upside down and prophetic utterances are coming to light. Even Paul in the Holy Bible speaks of how mankind loses its collective mind before we witness the wrath of God. This makes us wonder if all of what we are seeing is self-perpetuating and that the growing perversions, similar to the Roman Empire, indicate unwise decisions that lead to our downfall. The Olympics again are being perceived as a pattern of the deviancy we are embracing while turning us into gold medalists in cognitive dissonance. Tonight on Ground Zero, Clyde Lewis talks about THE GODS MUST BE CRAZY (AND A LITTLE PISSED OFF TOO). Listen Live: https://groundzero.radio Archived Shows: https://aftermath.media

Friday, 8 March 2024   but had some questions against him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who had died, whom Paul affirmed to be alive. Acts 25:19   More literally, the Greek reads, “But certain questions concerning their own religion they had against him, and concerning a certain Jesus having been dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive” (CG).   In the previous verse, Festus told Agrippa that Paul's accusers did not charge him with any of the crimes he had expected. He continues now, saying, “But certain questions concerning their own religion.”   Festus now uses the same basic word as that which Paul used in Acts 17:22. There it was deisidaimonesteros, and here it is deisidaimonia. They carry the same meaning, and each is only used one time in the Bible. It basically means a “dread of a deity.”   In essence, it refers to a religion or a superstition because of a fear of that deity. As Agrippa is a Jew, it is certain that Festus is using the term in a general sense, just as Paul did in Acts 17:22. It may not be his religion, but he acknowledges that it is Paul's.   Some versions say “superstition” instead of “religion,” but that is not the intent. Festus was not there to insult King Agrippa but to acknowledge the religion of the Jews. It was such points of their theology that “they had against him.”   Festus was expecting some type of aggravated crime to be charged against Paul. Instead, however, they were spending their time trying to disassociate their beliefs from those of Paul. As has been seen in the past, the religion of the Jews was considered an acceptable religion under Roman rule (religio licita).   However, the Jews constantly attempted to separate faith in Jesus from their faith. If they could do this, it would mean that Christianity might be considered unacceptable (religio illicita). This would make Paul an offender against Rome. Every attempt thus far had failed, but they continued to press this angle of attack against Paul.   Their accusations were against Paul's interpretation of their religion “and concerning a certain Jesus having been dead.”   The verb is a perfect participle. Festus had heard that Jesus was dead, and he had no reason to believe that wasn't true. Not accepting the premise of a resurrection, he assumed that if Jesus had died, He was still dead.   Until this point, the name “Jesus” hasn't been cited by Luke at all in the account. Despite this, it is apparent from the words of Festus that Jesus has been the subject of the entire situation. But, again, this Jesus was dead. Even Paul admitted he had died. To him, it was an axiom that when someone is dead, he stays dead.   Therefore, he uses the perfect participle. The results of the action continued even to the present time. On the other hand, this supposedly dead Jesus was One “whom Paul affirmed to be alive.”   In this case, the verb is in the imperfect tense, which implies that despite what he had heard about Jesus dying, even from Paul, he still kept insisting that He was alive. It seems that Festus is holding the entire scenario in contempt despite Paul's continued proclamation of the resurrection of Christ. The same blinders that covered the eyes of Israel's leaders also covered the eyes of this Roman governor. This agrees with the words of Paul found in 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 –   “Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him.”   Life application: Today, much of the world has heard about Jesus, including His death and resurrection. It is normally not an issue to speak about this with others and they already are aware of the details. “Sure, I have heard that. It's what Christians believe.”   However, knowing that a Christian believes this does not mean that they accept the premise themselves. Christian/atheist debates happen at colleges and seminaries all the time. The atheists know what the Christians believe but simply deny it happened. There are people in church leadership positions and professors in Christian colleges who don't really believe the things they teach.   But this is the key and central point of the faith. It is the dividing line between who is saved and who is not saved. Paul goes into great detail concerning the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15, but the initial premise, that Jesus rose from the dead, is the final part of the simple gospel.   Scripture proclaimed He would die, be buried, and resurrect. Faith in that is what saves. If these things were according to Scripture, it means that God knew the future when those things were written. Thus, He is the Creator God who transcends time.   If these things were according to Scripture, then it means that God had a plan set forth in advance. Thus, He is the Initiator of the process and the One who followed through with it each step of the way. Therefore, salvation is an act which is of the Lord alone. Because of this, it logically follows that there is one and only one way to be saved – His way.   The simple and easily ignored or dismissed claim that Jesus resurrected carries with it all of the weight and authority of the final decree of God for salvation. If you have ever wondered why such a basic and simple set of words is so greatly maligned by people, it is because, as simple as they are to understand, they are some of the most incredible words one could possibly accept.   Truly, only an act of faith that what is recorded in Scripture can bring one to accept them. As this is so, how pleasing it must be to God when we demonstrate that simple act of faith. As Christians, be people of faith. If you have believed that God could raise a man from the dead, then accepting the other words of Scripture should not be that difficult to accept as well.   Lord God Almighty, what could we do that deserves Your salvation? The greatest achievements of man quickly fade away with time. The kindest gestures between humans are still tainted with the sin that resides within us. But to have faith that You can restore us to Yourself through the gospel of Jesus Christ is something completely beyond ourselves. In accepting the gospel, we are throwing ourselves totally at Your mercy. We understand this and we believe. Thank You for the good news of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

We Need To Check Ourselves (4) (audio) David Eells 1/24/24  The Blessings Of Humility Missy Pollock said, This is a quote from David's book “The Blessings of Humility” at the very end of chapter 3. I thought it was such a good ending to the chapter because it greatly blessed me!  Jesus sought a simple life. He sought not to have and do the things that men thought were great. He didn't mind speaking Truth, even if it offended the high and the mighty. He didn't mind leaving the multitudes behind in order to go seek fellowship with the Father. (Matthew 14:13; Luke 4:42; Mark 1:35; etc.) We need to emulate Him.   Jesus had such a desire to meet the needs of the people, that in some cases, He was working night and day. (Matthew 8:24-25,13:2; Mark 3:9; etc.) Jesus said, (Mat.8:20) … The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. He didn't have any time for Himself and I believe that God has some servants down here who are doing the same thing. They see the need, they're moved with compassion, and they go to meet the need, but not for the glory of man.   Jesus wasn't doing it for the glory of man because He didn't mind leaving the multitudes and going up into the mountains to pray. He's our Example, and as the Bible tells us, (1Jn.2:5) But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily hath the love of God been perfected. Hereby we know that we are in him: (6) he that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked.      You Just Need Me Debbie Fenske 1/19/24 Yesterday I decided to look for some very quiet worship music that I thought I'd have playing while having my quiet time with Jesus. I found what I really liked and started to play it. Then, as I began to sit with Jesus, I heard Him, very quietly, tell me something. He said, "You don't need sound." I said, "That is really good, Lord." And then, He continued to quietly say more to me. I turned off the quiet music and listened. This is what He said.   "You don't need sound. You just need Me. Listen for My voice. You don't need a plan. You just need Me. Desire Me. Desire to seek Me with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. You don't need a feeling. You just need Me. I will give you My peace. You don't need routine. You just need Me. I will lead you, and I will guide you."  Lord Jesus, thank you that you have not made it a hard thing to come before you, to get alone with you. Lord, please help us to kick aside all these preconceived ideas that say we need so much more. Please Lord, help us to desire just you, and to cast down the need for sound around us, and to cast down any inner thoughts and feelings, and our plans. Help us to just drop all these things, and just desire to sit with you. To desire only you. Thank you, Jesus that you are our peace, and that in that peace you will lead us and guide us. You will speak to us and let us know whether to open your Word to begin receiving from you there, or to just sit and wait on you. What you can do with us in our time alone with you, Lord, is limitless. Thank you, Jesus. We just need you. Thank you that you just want us, alone. Thank you, Lord. Amen.      Dying To Self  Winnie Osegueda 1/21/24  I read this and enjoyed it, and wanted to share it with you all. Thank You Lord for Your grace and for completing the work You started in us:  “When you are forgotten, or neglected, or purposely set at naught, and you don't sting and hurt with the insult or the oversight, but your heart is still happy, being counted worthy to suffer for Christ, THAT IS DYING TO SELF.  When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed, your advice disregarded, your opinions ridiculed, your best intentions misinterpreted, and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart, or even defend yourself, but rather take it all in patiently, loving silence, knowing that Christ alone is your defender, THAT IS DYING TO SELF.  When you patiently bear annoyance, disorder, inconvenience, irregularity, and even impunctuality from others; when you feel your time has been wasted and you've been treated harshly and unfairly and yet you still respond in love, maintaining your peace, and enduring these things with meekness as Jesus endured, THAT IS DYING TO SELF.  When you are unruffled with less than desirable accommodations, uncomplaining with meager food, difficult climates, re-arranged travel schedules, when you maintain cheerfulness even though others are grumpy, when you are loving, kind, and attentive even to those who can do you no benefit by their association, when you remain calm despite interruptions to your agenda and plans by the will of God, THAT IS DYING TO SELF.  When you don't care to refer to yourself in conversation, when you don't feel the need to boast of your accomplishments and record every good deed you do for the world to see, when you don't itch after commendation and applause, when you don't mind when others are acknowledged and your name is ignored, when you're more concerned with being faithful to God's call, when you are okay to be unknown, THAT IS DYING TO SELF.  When you see your brother prospering, when you see him succeeding with a project that you contributed to, and yet you can honestly rejoice with him in spirit, being happy to remain behind the scenes, not questioning God, but being grateful that the work is being accomplished so that God is glorified, THAT IS DYING TO SELF.  When you can receive correction and reproof from one of less stature than yourself and can humbly submit inwardly as well as outwardly, finding no rebellion or resentment rising up within your heart, THAT IS DYING TO SELF.”  "That I may know Him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death." Php 3:10  “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” Gal 2:20      Idols In The Heart  Anonymous 12/10/22   I sought the Lord regarding idols in our heart and heard:   “Be aware of idols of ‘insecurity' and ‘selfishness'. You need to reshape and rethink on how you perceive life in Christ.”  (We are accounted righteous when we believe we don't live anymore, Christ lives in us. Rom 6:11  Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus.)  Col 3:3-4 For ye died, and your life is hid with the Christ in God. 4 When the Christ, our life, shall be manifested, then shall ye also with him be manifested in glory.   Eph 4:22-24 that ye put away, as concerning your former behavior, the old man, that waxeth corrupt after the lusts of deceit; 23 and that ye be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new man, that after God hath been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.   “Insecurity is where you want or require something, that when put to the test of eternity with Me, would be thrown out into the fire. I supply all your needs and desires of your heart. Continue to replace and put Me always first and keep a watch to the things that could be contrary to My Word.”   1Pe 5:7 casting all your anxiety upon him, because he careth for you.   Php 4:6 In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.   Php 4:19 And my God shall supply your every need according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.  Psa 37:4-5 Delight thyself also in Jehovah; And he will give thee the desires of thy heart. 5 Commit thy way unto Jehovah; Trust also in him, and he will bring it to pass.    “Selfishness is where there is pride and misunderstanding, especially when what has been taught and learned through the world's ways, comes between us.”  Mar 7:13  making void the word of God by your tradition, which ye have delivered: Php 2:4-5 not looking each severally to his own things, but each severally also to those of others. 5 Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus   “The renewal of your mind is the best place to begin, to be cleansed and sanctified. After these things are put into check and aligned back according to My Son and My Word, you can receive and manifest 100 fold!”   Rom 12:2 And be not fashioned according to this age: but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, that ye may prove what is the good and well-pleasing and perfect will of God.   “Like when a bath is filled with water. You get in, and the water rises. When you get out, you can fill up all the way. It is the objects of no value within, that are to be removed to enable more room to be filled with Me.   Aim and focus on the hardest and most hidden of evil. This is self. Learn to hate the concept and mindset of being an individual. Instead, you need to incorporate My Son as He is the perfect replacement.  To get past all of self and anything that is carnal and fleshly, you need to find and root them out. Keep an eye and ear on the self (watch out for outward evil manifestations) and bring it to the Light for full exposure.”   Eph 5:8 for ye were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord: walk as children of light.  Eph 5:11-13 and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather even reprove them; 12 for the things done by them in secret it is a shame even to speak of. 13 But all things when reproved are manifested by the light: for everything manifested is light.   “Speak it out, and pray it out, and know that it is a process for it all to go. Believe that you are at the end from your current state, and are already perfected in Christ. It is just the flesh and soul with understanding that needs to catch up.”   Col 1:27 to whom God was pleased to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the nations, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:     Humility Brings Grace David Eells If there's anything you need from God, humble yourself, and confess your sins. As the Bible says, (Psa.66:18) If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear. Many people are diligently attempting to exercise their faith, and yet they find no grace from God to hold on to their faith. Faith is a gift from God. If He doesn't give it to you, you won't have it. And you can try your best to stand in faith and you will fail, because the Word says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not, will not hear.” He will not hear. Well, what choice do we have then? God is telling us that He's not going to hear unless we repent. (Pro.28:13) He that covereth his transgressions shall not prosper: But whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall obtain mercy. We just read unless we humble ourselves concerning any sin, we're not going to receive grace. And here we see that, unless we confess our sins, we're not going to prosper or have His mercy, therefore other things besides lack of faith can block us from receiving the blessings of God. God is very forgiving to us because, many times, we don't know that we're doing wrong and so God overlooks them. He puts them under the Blood because of our ignorance. (Jas.4:17) To him therefore that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. But if God is showing you something required of Him in your life, then you're responsible to make corrections because it may block you from receiving what you need from the Lord. In this case, we can see that we have to confess our sins in order to receive our healing. Some may say, “That's salvation by works, David.” Well, you can take it for whatever you believe it is, but the Bible says, “confess your sins one to another...that ye may be healed,” and that's what we have to believe and act on. (Pro.16:18) Pride goeth before destruction, And a haughty (This is gobah meaning “lofty; high; height; pride.”) spirit before a fall. (The Hebrew kishshalon there is also translated as “stumbling; ruin.”) That doesn't sound like somebody is receiving what they want from the Lord! Destruction is not what we pray and believe for; it's not according to the good promises. And possibly you've heard people say, “You Christians, you accept all the good promises but you don't like any of the bad promises.” Well, this is one of them, right here: “Pride goeth before destruction.” So it behooves us to find out what pride actually is and how many ways it can be manifested in our life. That's another reason why we need to read the Scriptures, because there can be things in our life that block us from receiving grace that imparts faith from God to bring us salvation. Certainly we don't pray to fall into destruction and ruin or these kinds of things; we pray for God's blessings. But Jesus said in (Mat.12:30) He that is not with me is against me, and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. If you're prideful, which is the opposite of humility, you're going to be destroyed. And if you're haughty, which is being self-promoting, you're at the very least going to stumble, and possibly be ruined. All that is chastening upon the wicked, unregenerate old man, who is prideful and has to be crucified. He's the one you're supposed to be leaving on the cross. (Pro.16:19) Better it is to be of a lowly spirit with the poor, Than to divide the spoil with the proud. Recently, I was giving some advice to a person who was forsaking running after the Lord with all their heart in order to get a “higher” education. I asked them, “Are you sure that's what the Lord really wants for you? You know, we're coming very, very close to the end times now. What is more important? Is it to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, which is what we're commanded to do? Or is it to get a ‘higher' education so you can earn a higher income?”  I tell you, the most important thing is to humble yourself to the Word of God, now and forever. That “higher” education doesn't matter in the least. Personally, I'd rather be stupid and humble, and get what God gives me in His Word. Obviously, some of you may be contrary to my thinking there, but I would rather be of lowly spirit with the poor, and not worry about the “higher” education. I don't know how many people come out of their so-called “higher” education anti-Christ in their thinking. They've lost God in the midst of it because a little leaven leavens the whole lump (1 Corinthians 5:6; Galatians 5:9). Also we have in (Pro.15:33) The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom; And before honor goeth humility. There is it again, before honor must be humility. Do you want to be honored of the Lord or of man? Humility has to come first before we can have the blessings of God, those great promises that we believe for. And, (Pro.22:4) The reward of humility and the fear of the Lord Is riches, and honor, and life. How many people have lost their lives, spiritual or physical or both, because they didn't humble themselves to God's Word? (Mat.6:33) But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. We need to seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness. His Word needs to be put in our heart every day. The most important thing that we do, over and above and including going to “church,” is humbling ourselves to the Word of God. It is the Life of God. So many are caught-up in, and puffed-up by, false doctrines of false religion. They're in idolatrous worship of false leaders and are being led astray from the faith. Humility and the fear of the Lord go hand-in-hand. If you are humble, you fear the Lord. If you fear the Lord, you are humble, and this goes before “riches, and honor, and life.” If you want to manifest not just more of physical life, but more of the Life of Jesus, one of the ways to receive that is through humility. Many people pass away because they don't humble themselves to the Word. They haven't read the Word enough, and don't believe the Word enough, to find out that God already provided deliverance from the curses that have fallen upon mankind. Glory to God! It's a wonderful thing to walk in that faith and to see that God keeps His Word! What do we have to be proud of? What do we have that we can claim is on account of our righteousness, our power, our wisdom? What do we have? As we're told, (1Co.1:26) For behold your calling, brethren, that not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, [are called]… In other words, the people who are great in this world are not the kind of people the Lord calls. And He says, “not many,” meaning He does call some of them. He likes to give a demonstration of His power because He's able to save even these people by humbling them. Even Paul was humbled. But generally He does not choose the wise, the mighty, the noble. (1Co.1: 27) but God chose the foolish [things] of the world… That word “things” was added-in all through this text, but is not found in the original Greek manuscripts and so it should be italicized in your Bible. There's no numeric pattern in the word “things” here. This text properly reads, (1Co.1:26) For behold your calling, brethren, that not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, [are called]: (27) but God chose the foolish of the world, that he might put to shame them that are wise; and God chose the weak of the world, that he might put to shame them that are strong; (28) and the base of the world, and the despised, did God choose, [yea] and the things that are not, that he might bring to nought the things that are: (So God chooses people who are foolish, weak, base, and despised by the world. Why?) (29) that no flesh should glory before God. “Glory” there is the Greek kauxáomai meaning, “I boast; I exult proudly.” It's important to God “that no flesh should glory” before Him. The people that God chooses are not the wise or the great or the gifted or the necessarily handsome. And, although many times the people who are promoted to the top of Christianity are just like that, they're not found to be faithful nor really gifted in the Spirit of God. It seems like a person has to be weak in the ways of the world before they will really have trust in God and lean upon Him. I'm one of those people. For instance, I never considered myself a speaker, never liked to get up in front of people, and don't relish it to today, but I do it. And I'm able to do it by the Grace of God, not that my speech is all that great today. But, you know, Paul's on my side because he said that he wasn't a great speaker either. Moses too. At any rate, when we're made capable of doing something only by God, we have to trust in Him because we know we have no strength within ourselves to do it. You may ask, “Why does God pick people that are weak?” Well, He says, so “that no flesh should glory before God.” And also in 2Co 12:9 ASV  And he hath said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my power is made perfect in weakness. (Get this important principle:) Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. A person who seeks importance because of self confidence is not qualified. Where is Superman now? What has happened to the superstars? Where are all the factious leaders who thought they should have a position of authority that God did not give them. Carpenters know that the head that sticks up gets hammered. And here is why. Mat 23:12 ASV  And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled; and whosoever shall humble himself shall be exalted. He doesn't want any pride in us. He doesn't want us taking any credit for what He chooses to do through us. He wants us to give all glory to Him. (Isa.42:8) I am the Lord, that is my name; and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise unto graven images. God will not share His glory with another, and when you try to rob the glory of God because of your own personal gifts, then God has to humble you because you're lifting yourself up. “Pride goeth before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.” Jesus Could Do Nothing of Himself It's hard to even imagine it, yet Jesus said in (Joh.5:19) … The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father doing: for what things soever he doeth, these the Son also doeth in like manner. Now, obviously, if Jesus could do nothing of Himself, we can do nothing of ourselves. Nothing of any importance in the Kingdom can we do of ourselves because self has no power to do the work of God. Self cannot walk in the Spirit. Self does not have the renewed mind of Christ with the renewed sight and hearing (Ephesians 4:23), having been washed with the water of the Word (Ephesians 5:26). Self has no power to walk in the Spirit or to do the works of God.     Question Yourself  Anonymous12/3/22   I was in prayer and I asked the Lord what He wants to tell me:  “A question to self: Am I doing what I know to do?” NENT Jas 1:23 For if any is hearer of the word and not doer, HE is like a man beholding his natural face in a mirror:  “Am I on the right side living by faith in the Word?” (I.e. Righteous by faith, abiding in Christ) NENT Rom 1:17 For herein is being revealed God's righteousness from faith unto faith: as it is written, But the righteous man shall live by faith.  1Jn 2:5-6 but whoso keepeth his word, in him hath truly the love of God been perfected. Hereby we know that we are in him: 6 who saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even as HE walked.   “Be on the perfect team, and you will never fail or lose. Believe you are not anymore, but Christ lives in you.” NENT Rom 6:11 Thus ye also reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.   “This is an excellent choice, as the self-part of you is really the loser, and there is nothing you can do that is better than I”. Job 38:33 Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens? Canst thou establish the dominion thereof in the earth?   Job 42:2 I know that thou canst do all things, And that no purpose of thine can be restrained.   “Admit it before men”. NENT Mat 10:32 Every one therefore who shall confess in me before men, in him will I also confess before my Father who is in the heavens.  1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.   “Humble yourself and come to me”. (Being humble allows the Lord to utilize us as vessels of honor.) Num 12:3 Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men that were upon the face of the earth. NENT 1Pe 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he might exalt you in season;   “The more frequent you let go of self, and imitate My Word as Christ, then infinitely more My Love will manifest through you”. (I.e. We will progress from star to moon to sun glory manifesting Christ with 100-fold fruit.) NENT 1Co 15:41 One glory of sun, and another glory of moon, and another glory of stars; for star differeth from star in glory.   “I washed you in the Water of My Word to clean out all the lies. You can then have a clear mind which can do My Works”. Joh 15:3 Already ye are clean because of the word which I have spoken unto you. NENT Rom 12:2 And be not fashioned according to this age: but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, that ye may prove what is the good and well-pleasing and perfect will of God.   2Ti 1:7 For God gave us not a spirit of fearfulness; but of power and love and sobering.   “There is real life through the release of the carnal and worldly ways of men”. NENT 2Co 6:14 Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers: for what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity? or what communion hath light with darkness?   Mat 11:29-30 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest to your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.   “I know you, and you know and will do as I say. And I can see that where we are, here in eternity.” NENT Eph 2:5-6 even when we were dead through the trespasses made us alive together with the Christ (by grace have ye been saved), 6 and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenlies, in Christ Jesus.     Finding Balance in Faith David Eells  (Mar.16:17) And these signs shall accompany them that believe... (18) they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall in no wise hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.   Should we always eat what we want, drink what we want and breathe what we want because we are not under the curse, according to Galatians 3:13? Possibly the key words here are "what we want" not "what we need". God said He would supply our every need. Some think that because we are not under the curse that we shouldn't tell people that certain things are poison. Where is the balance here?   No one should tempt God by taking poison on purpose when there is a choice. That is like the snake handlers who often die tempting God to prove who they are. Permit me to paraphrase the devil when he tempted Jesus: "Throw yourself off this temple, Jesus, because God said the angels would catch you". His answer was, "You shall not tempt the Lord your God". Like the angels' promise of safety, God also said you are not under the curse. Does that mean you should put poison in your mouth on purpose when you have a choice not to? That would be tempting God in the exact same way.   Notice the devil tempted Jesus to use His promise of protection and His deliverance from the curse to jump off the temple. He tempts you to use your promise of protection to eat known poison for no purpose or eat after your own lusts. There is no difference, unless that is all you have to eat, like the man who said to Elisha, "There is death in the pot," because in their foraging for food, poisonous gourds had been thrown in the pot. Since that is what they had to eat, he blessed it and they ate it.   I have drunk Pensacola water, driven my motorcycle through the chemtrails when I could smell them, ate whatever food was put before me because I needed to and was blessed. I knew an otherwise strong Christian who believed with all his heart that he could eat anything he wanted because he was not under the curse. I agreed with the principle but not the way he was using it to justify his eating habits. He was using the doctrine to eat in an unhealthy manner and was overweight and under-exercised. To make a long story short, he died with his arteries clogged and dying because of lack of circulation.   The Lord said we ask and don't receive because we want to consume it upon our lusts. The demons jumped on the seven sons of Sceva, who thought they had protection, but their own lives were not right with God and so they were under the curse.   The promise that, if you drink any deadly thing it will not harm you, is for those who have to drink the water and eat the food available to them, like when Moses blessed the bitter waters in the barren wilderness. When we are given poison secretly to kill us, as the powers that be are doing now, we are protected. When we know about it and have a choice between poison or pure, we should choose the pure. Of course, if you have something to prove, like the devil was tempting Jesus with saying, "If you are the Son of God," and then he went on to test him with prove who you are. Jesus had no such lust and He proved it. There was another way down from that temple roof. Some today would say to someone like him, "You don't have any faith". Who is the teacher here?   The man who said there was death in the pot was not wrong. Now they had a choice to make: believe God if you need to eat or opt out if you don't believe. Many Christians don't believe God will protect them from poison. Should we just let them die because they do not believe God's promise? Is it alright to say to them, there is death in the pot? They would die and never have a chance to grow up and learn that they are not under the curse. Of course God could give them a demonstration, like He did, of His power over the curse.  The Lord said in Hosea 4:6 that His people would die for lack of understanding. Let us have mercy on them and tell them that fluoride, chemtrails, chemotherapy, many drugs they take, etc., are poison but should they be forced to take them or deceived into taking them, they should believe they are not under the curse. Now we know serpents are also demons but Paul didn't take up that serpent on purpose. It bit him. But when it happened, he shook it off by faith and was none the worse.   I knew a couple who believed they were not under the curse but they were under a law of their own making, instead of grace through faith; they were under pride, Jezebel and a false Jesus. God didn't care what their doctrine was; He refused to answer and protect them.   In short, walk in holiness and under the protection of God but don't try to prove who you are in pride, don't put yourself under a law and don't be competitive with others, for God will humble you.   We are not looking to make or find the line in this balance for others; just share Biblical principles to help them find balance. Let everyone find their own line in their conscience and according to the measure of their faith. We don't want to be caught making laws for others here. 

The second coming of Christ has been the subject of a lot of speculation by many people. Even Paul himself thought that the second coming might be soon. The meat of this passage, though, is comfort. In the grand scheme, Christ is King. The savior we serve is more than just a nice guy, he is our strength.

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Monday morning, the 8th of January, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start with 1 Peter 1:24-25:"All flesh is as grass,And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass.The grass withers,And its flower falls away,But the word of the Lord endures forever."We do not trust in man's empty promises but only in the infallible Word of God, the Bible. Come on now, folks, let's be honest with ourselves - We can't even trust ourselves, can we? You know, if we look at the great apostle Paul, and he was a wonderful man of God, but look what he says himself in Romans 7:19:"For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice."Then we go down towards verse 24, he says:"O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?"Even Paul, the apostle who made Jesus face-to-face on the road to Damascus, did things he didn't want to do and didn't do things he should have. My dear friend, let us put our trust only in the Word of God; then we will be trustworthy. As we face 2024, we've got to do it with the Bible. We've got to do it by trusting in the Lord. Remember that old song: Because He lives, I can face tomorrowBecause he lives, all fear is goneBecause I know, yes I know, He holds the futureAnd life is worth the living, just because he lives.So we can face the future because we know the Lord is going with us. Have a wonderful day; Jesus bless you and goodbye.

#146// 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."How are you doing with the will of God in Christ Jesus for you when it comes to rejoicing and giving thanks? Isn't it crazy how we can clearly know what the will of God is for our life -- it's right there in the scripture! -- and still struggle with choosing to do it? Even Paul grieved over this in Romans 6 and 7, right? So why is it that we can know what we need to do, but have such a hard time choosing it? Do you struggle to choose joy and gratitude in the midst of your own hard circumstances? On this episode of The Positioned to Prosper Podcast, I'm sharing the message I preached at our last REVIVE Woman Girls Night Out event. During my share I unpacked Biblical guidance for how to choose joy and gratitude right in the midst of the hardest things life can throw at us. Are you ready to choose joy and gratitude right where you are? Grab your Bible, your journal and a pen, and . . . Let's Go!JOIN THE JESUS GIRL GANG! Looking for a community of women to go deeper into the things of God with? Desiring a deep dive into God's Word with a company of women who are learning to apply Truth without compromise? Wanting a discipleship experience that sharpens and equips you to be able to make a bold and confident sound into the earth for Jesus and His Kingdom? Jump in the Gang right here, Sis! Sign up before Sunday, November 26th and you'll receive a free membership trial through the end of the month. Let's dig in together!

Talk 10   Mark 3:13-19   Jesus appoints the first apostles Welcome to Talk 10 in our series on Mark's Gospel. Today we'll be considering Mark 3:13-19 where Jesus appoints his first apostles. I say his first apostles because there were, of course, later apostles mentioned in the book of Acts – Matthias, who was appointed to replace Judas, and, of course, the apostle Paul. I have gone into some detail about this in my book Body Builders where I also mention Barnabas and James, the Lord's brother, who are just two others named as apostles in the New Testament, and argue that there is no reason why we should not expect to see the ministry of apostles at work in the church today. However, today I will not be repeating those arguments, but rather consider what we can learn from these verses about this important ministry.   13 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve - designating them apostles - that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach 15 and to have authority to drive out demons. 16 These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); 17 James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder); 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.   13 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. This verse teaches us important principles about how men and women are called to God's service:   First, he calls those he wants Actually, the translation wanted is rather weak. Those he wanted is literally whom he willed. In Acts 1:2 Luke refers to the apostles Jesus had chosen, or more literally, chosen out (i.e from among the rest). The call of God is rooted in the will of God. No doubt that's why Jesus spent a night in prayer to God before appointing his apostles:   One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose (or picked out) twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles (Luke 6:12-13).   (Note, we're not talking about salvation here. We're talking about the call to apostleship. God is not willing that any should perish, and he calls everyone to be saved. But not everyone is called to be an apostle).   It's not wrong to want to serve the Lord in a particular way (e.g. to desire to be a church leader - 1 Timothy 3:1), but no amount of wanting will make it happen if it's not God's plan for our lives. The gifts and ministries God distributes among his people are given as he determines (1 Corinthians 12:11) and it is God who places apostles in the church (1 Corinthians 12:28). And as Paul was to write later concerning his own apostleship, By the grace of God I am what I am (1 Corinthians 15:10). Secondly, he calls those who are already disciples It's noteworthy that those he chose to be apostles were already his disciples. Mark has already told us how Jesus had called five of those named in this passage – Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Matthew – to follow him, and in the passage we've just quoted from Luke we're told that Jesus picked out his apostles from among his disciples.     And indeed, we would hardly have expected anything else. A disciple is a committed follower, someone who is willing to learn, not just one of a curious crowd who has come to see the miracles. Jesus said that the test of a true disciple is if they hold to his teaching (John 8:31). It goes without saying, then, if anyone is to be an apostle, someone who is sent to spread the good news about Christ and speak with his authority, they must first be a disciple.   Thirdly, despite what we have just said, those he called to be apostles had not been his disciples very long They were called at the outset of Jesus' ministry. They had a lot to learn but Jesus called them when they were relatively young. The gifts and calling of God are not dependent on age. Paul told Timothy to let no one despise his youth (1 Timothy 4:12). There's a danger that older Christians sometimes find it hard to accept the ministry of those who are younger, and, conversely, young Christians themselves can be tempted to feel that they're too young to serve the Lord.   Speaking from personal experience, I accepted the claims of Christ when I was just fourteen years old and began preaching in the same year. Hopefully, my understanding of God's word has increased considerably over the seventy years that have followed, but the gift enabling me to preach was there from the start. When I was still in my thirties God showed me that I would become the Principal of a Bible College, but I, along I suspect with many others, thought I might be too young. But it happened as God said it would. Don't be surprised if the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers that Christ is still giving to his church (Ephesians 4:11) arise from the ranks of young people.   And, fourthly, those he called were willing to come How do we know? Because they came to him. Jesus didn't compel them. He called them. The choice was theirs. Even Paul, who could say that God had set him apart from his mother's womb (Galatians 1:15), had a choice about it. In saying this he almost certainly had in mind what God said to the prophet Ezekiel:   Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations (Ezekiel 1:5).   At first sight this seems as though Ezekiel had no choice about it, but as we read the rest of the chapter it's clear from God's warning not to disobey him that he did! Note that in this verse God knows Ezekiel before he creates him and appoints him. The key to understanding the mystery of God's predetermined purpose for our lives is his foreknowledge. He chooses us in advance because he knows in advance that when he calls us, we will choose to follow him. God chooses us. Then he calls us. We respond. Then he appoints. 14 He appointed twelve - designating them apostles - that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach 15 and to have authority to heal diseases and drive out demons. The main purpose of these verses is to reveal Jesus' purpose in appointing apostles, and we'll turn to that in a moment, but first it's interesting to consider if there's any significance in the number 12. And Matthew 19:28 may well indicate that there is: Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.   So the number of the twelve apostles corresponds to the number of the twelve tribes of Israel. Now is not the time to enter into lengthy discussion of all the possible implications of this verse, but it does seem that Jesus is here giving an early indication of what was later to become clearer in the rest of the New Testament that the true Israel is not comprised of the physical descendants of Abraham, but of his followers, whether Jew or Gentile, who would believe as Abraham believed. The church was to become the Israel of God (Galatians 6:15-16, cf. 1 Peter 2:9-10, Ephesians 2:11-16). And the apostles Jesus appointed were to have a special role in the coming kingdom of God – which, incidentally, seems to indicate that The Twelve were a unique group and should be distinguished from later apostles like Barnabas, Paul and James to whom I have already referred. (For more on this, please see Body Builders).   But now let's turn to Jesus' purpose in appointing these men. We saw in chapter 1 how Jesus came proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God (vv.14-15) and how he called the four fishermen to follow him, saying, Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men v.17). They were to follow Jesus and learn from him how to proclaim the good news, and in so doing win other disciples for him. This same purpose is now made clear as he chooses and appoints the twelve apostles. They are to proclaim the good news and demonstrate its truth by healing diseases and driving out demons. And as we look at these two verses in a little more detail we see four key principles. He appointed them: ·      that they might be with him ·      that he might send them out ·      to preach (proclaim the good news) ·      to have authority to heal diseases and drive out demons.   that they might be with him Before he could ever send them out to preach it was vital that they should be with him. They had so much to learn. If they were to proclaim God's truth, they must first learn what it is. However great a person's communication skills, if what they're communicating is not the truth, they'll do more harm than good. These men were to spend three years learning from Jesus and would continue to learn after Jesus had left them as they were taught by the Holy Spirit (John 16:12-13).   We can apply this to ourselves in three main ways. First, there is no substitute for spending time with Jesus if we want to be effective in his service. Secondly, if we're called to full time service, a period of intensive training is highly desirable. And thirdly, we need continually and increasingly to be learning what the Holy Spirit is teaching us.   that he might send them out The word that's used for send here is apostello. The word that's used for apostle is apostolos. An apostle is essentially someone who is sent. However, it's important not to assume that every time the verb apostello is used in the New Testament it's a reference to apostles. The word is used in a much more general sense to refer to anyone who is sent, as, for example, when Pilate's wife sent a message to Pilate in Matthew 27:19. For more on this, please see Body Builders.   But with regard to the twelve that Jesus designated as apostles it's clear that in the context apostolos is used in a much more specific sense.  The word is sometimes used to refer to someone who is sent with a special commission and authority to represent someone else, rather like an ambassador who represents their country in another land, and that's pretty much how it's being used here. Paul certainly understood his apostleship in these terms for he saw himself as an ambassador for Christ imploring people on Christ's behalf to be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:20).   But of course, we mustn't limit the responsibility to be Christ's ambassadors to those who are called to be apostles. We all have a responsibility to share the good news with others. He sends us out as ambassadors to tell others about the heavenly country to which we now belong and to represent our King as we live in a land which is not our real home, for our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). Why not ask God, Lord, who are you sending me to today?   to preach (proclaim) The word translated preach here is the same as in Mark 1:14 referring to Jesus proclaiming  the good news. I must confess that some of the ‘preaching' I have heard falls very short of proclaiming. The word means to herald or to announce. That's what Jesus did and the disciples were to do the same because he had given them authority to do so.   And it's clear from the last chapter of Mark's Gospel that the disciples got the message. Jesus told them to go into all the world and preach (proclaim) the good news to all… (v.15). He promised them that miraculous signs would accompany their message, and in verse 20 we're told that they went out and preached (proclaimed) everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.   to have authority to (heal diseases and) drive out demons. The reference to healing diseases is not found in all manuscripts but is completely in harmony with both Matthew's and Luke's accounts. In Matthew 8:1 Jesus gives them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and illness… and in Luke 9:1-2 he gives them power and authority to drive out all demons and sends them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal those who were ill.   Taking these accounts together the message is clear. The good news of the kingdom of God is to be proclaimed and demonstrated with miraculous signs. This is to be done by those to whom Jesus has given the authority to do so. But does this apply to all Christians or only to those who are apostles? The answer is neither! It doesn't apply to all Christians and it is not only for the apostles.   Why do I say this? First, it doesn't apply only to apostles because it's clear from Luke 10 that Jesus later appointed 72 others, who are not designated as apostles, and told them to heal those who are ill and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near you (Luke 9:9). What's more, it's clear from Acts 8 that Philip, who was not an apostle, but an evangelist exercised a similar ministry.   And secondly, we mustn't assume that it applies to all Christians because Jesus gave this authority to a limited number of people, whose names are given in verses 16-19, and he gave it at a particular time during his ministry. For example, in Matthew 10:8 Jesus gave the twelve people named in verses 2-4 authority to raise the dead, but that doesn't mean that I can claim it as a promise, because the promise wasn't made to me. If I am to raise the dead I must have Jesus' authority to do so. And since Jesus is no longer with us in bodily form that authority can only come through the leading of the Holy Spirit. That's why, after Jesus left them, even the apostles, who had already worked miracles while Jesus was with them, had to wait for the coming of the Spirit to empower them and lead them.   So the passages we've been looking at don't give us a set of promises that we can appropriate for ourselves, but they do give us a clear indication of the kind of things we can expect to happen as we are led by the Spirit. We should expect miracles to confirm the proclamation of the gospel, but they will only happen as we follow the principles we have seen in these verses. We must spend time with Jesus, we must go where he sends us, we must speak what he tells us, and, as he through the Spirit gives us the authority, we will see miraculous things happen to confirm the good news we proclaim.   For more on this important subject, please see Just a Taste of Heaven – a biblical and balanced approach to God's healing power.  

Do you need more small group leaders? How would you like to see an exponential increase of volunteers stepping up to serve in your church? Steve Gladen, Global Small Groups Pastor at Saddleback Church, pulls from his 25 years of small group ministry experience to encourage and equip listeners to lead healthier, growing and more effective small group ministries. In this episode, Steve is joined by co-host Derek and special guest pastor William Johnston of Saddleback church  who shares his top tried and true keys to creating a healthy ministry and staff culture. You are not going to want to miss this episode!Will's Notes Introduction Our secular work culture has largely influenced our workplace interactions Secular work culture shapes us in certain values Escapism: Working for the weekend. My real life starts when I leave work. Individualistic Results: My personal results are the upmost sign of success. Passive responsibility: I am just going to take care of what I need to do. We hand over ownership and leadership completely to a senior leader because we do not want deal with something or we are just lazy. The buck never stops with us      C.  Quickly provide alternatives God wants our whole life to reflect him and flow together. While we can turn off our ministry as work minds. We live on mission for Jesus in all facets of life. We often do not know how to measure success well in church because it is challenging to quantify but our goal is for the Church, the Body of Christ to flourish, for people to meet Jesus, grow to spiritual maturity, serve other and live on mission for him. If it becomes my niche ministry or idea taking off, then we've missed it. Lastly, in the body of Christ we all have responsibility to each other and to live as God has created us. We have interactive mechanisms in our body that course correct when we are sick or even when we trip on shoe. It is the same in the body of Christ     II.  One of the symptom of these values is challenging or decaying staff cultures  A large part of our jobs are people and the largest portion of time is spent with our staff. We are all different people with different personalities, strengths and weaknesses, hobbies, and work ideals. There is nothing new about people not getting along. Even Paul and Barnabus reached a point where they were like “Ya, I think I'm good”       B. We all want to enjoy our place of work.  We all want to enjoy the people we work with but it is hard.  III.    Who is to blame? If you are waiting for someone to make your workplace enjoyable, you are 50% of the problem. If you are sitting back, waiting, and complaining about what other people are not doing for you without doing anything about it, you are part of the problem. “We want our lead pastor to set the tone” “We want the denomination to do this” “If the board of directors said this” We think of certain people in authority as the one with the sole responsibility for our staff dynamics instead of thinking about our staff as something we have an equal part in. If your staff culture is poor, you are a piece of that pie. IV.  How do we course correct when we are not in the head chair? We need to reflect on: What do we want in a workplace? and What are steps I can do to help us get there?  What things would you enjoy in your workplace and begin doing them?       B. There are some simple questions that I believe lead to crawl steps in building a staff that turns into a family. If we as ourselves this set of questions weekly, our staff culture will begin improving immediately. How can I make this time more fun, memorable, intentional? How much time am I spending with each staff member? When was the last time I ate a meal with each staff member in a setting of 4 or less people? When was the last time I asked them about their family? How much time am I in communal spaces or around other staff? When was the last time I followed up on something we talked about recently? What does each staff member want from our relationship?  When was the last time I encouraged each staff member?        C. Walk Step Ideas Have an onboarding strategy for new staff. Taking them out to eat or bringing lunch in Every week checking in on questions they have Inviting them and their spouse over for food or a game night Know everyone's favorite drink Know their bdays and their family members Bdays Individualized BDay gifts Show up to something that matters to them       D. Run Steps Relationship study about the correlation of long lasting relationship and unique joint experiences Grand openings Community Events V. Building Trust with a Supervisor The Basics I typically hear people who want trust or an in with their senior leader to share challenges We don't think they are doing something correctly They are not taking our ideas       2.   We do not begin with the right intentions. We connect because we want something This is never a ploy! If someone takes any of the next steps for their own gain instead of enjoying the people God has placed in your life. It will not be successful. These things done without a heart that sincerely wants to know the other person will probably leave you in the same situation.This is the difference between leading up and sucking up Trust with a senior leader begins with a basic friendship I.  Well that is easy. And the answer to that thought is yes it is easyIt is interesting that most people in our churches desire time and closeness to the senior or lead pastor but when we get on a church staff and are a couple chairs down the table we stop taking initiative and believe everything should be initiated by that senior leader.So we sit back and wait for our senior leader to initiate and then become frustrated when our relationship does not look the way we want it. B. Making Changes In the conversation about building good staff relationship I gave clear next steps I believe a healthy and sustainable relationship with your senior leader is more about posture. Questions that lead us to the right posture When was the last time you prayed for your campus pastor? When was the last time you asked about their kids? When was the last time you asked them out for dinner? When was the last time you asked if there is something you could take off their plate? When was the last time you just talked with no agenda? When was the last time you texted them about something happening in their life? C. Hard Conversations1. People are probably thinking “ok, now can I have a hard conversation with my supervisor?”2.        We always need to ask ourselves a set of questions before a conversation with a superior where we want to express concern, frustration, or challenges.       a. When was the last time you encouraged them?       b. Are my emotions pure or am I mad because… i. They shot down my idea. ii. Spend more time with another staff member Iii. something is going on at home and I do not have a healthy outlet for it.      c. Am I ok being wrong?3.  Fear If you care about your church, you have to be willing to be honest I understand that their are unhealthy leaders out there who do not welcome feedback or tough conversations but I have seen bitterness build up in people and lead to burnout because they did not have one tough conversation that ended up building and building with their senior leader never knowing there was an issue to start with. I try to believe the best in people and sincerely hope that if someone is in ministry and in a lead role that they will appreciate your care for the church and when you have a strong relationship built with that leader they will know the intent and trust the words you share.        4. ResponsibilityIn many our circles as small group people we are close to the top of leadership. It is our duty to protect our lead pastor. We always have to have their backs. And sometimes that means having hard conversations       5. ClosingLeading up is not getting your way or making your rise to the top. It is about caring for your church and caring for your leader. If you commit yourself to loving those two things, your church will be a better place. ★ Support this podcast ★

Scripture Reading: Acts 1:1-2 I wrote the former account, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after he had given orders by the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.End of Genesis DiscussionLast week I attempted to wrap up our brief discussion of Genesis. Because I ran out of time, I would like to use the first few minutes of our current session to tie up loose ends. I think it is important that as we study Acts, we have a general understanding of the Christian worldview—the key reason behind my Genesis detour.I attempted to take a “minimum facts” approach to the first three chapters of Genesis. By that I mean that I focused on the core or basic lessons taught by the text. These are by no means all the lessons we could learn from it but, instead, those central tenets with which nearly every Christian would agree. Here's a brief summary of the points we discussed:(1) One God. The text of Genesis contains no theogony (i.e., genealogy of gods), theomachy (i.e., conflict between gods), or deicide (i.e., death of a god). None of that. Genesis has God—the one and only. This monotheism was radically different than any other belief in the region. (A question was asked last time regarding whether Genesis was the first religious story to introduce monotheism. I still cannot confirm an answer, but I can say that all the major monotheistic religions trace back to the Genesis account.)(2) God Is Not Like Nature. Whereas in other ancient Near Eastern myths, the line between nature and gods is blurred, that line is an unbreachable chasm in Genesis. Other stories have the gods turning into nature, such as the earth being made out of Tiamat's corpse, or being one with a natural phenomenon, like the night being a god of the night. In Genesis, God simply speaks creation into being. Nature is not divine in any sense. And God is not “natural” in any sense. If we are willing to go beyond the Genesis story and take into account the whole counsel of scripture along with a bit of theology, I think we can confidently say that God is an uncreated, necessary being, in whose unchanging character goodness itself is rooted.(3) Nature Is Not Spiritual. Is there a spirit of the water, and a spirit of the wind, and spirit of the day, and a spirit of the night? According to many, if not all, ancients myths: yes. According to Genesis: no. This is the very foundation of science. The natural world is not personal, so it behaves according to impersonal principles that can be relied upon to act consistently. Moreover, this natural world has been made by a mind not completely unlike ours, so we can expect the natural world to be intelligible. This is another foundational principle of science. In our modern world, we are so used to assuming these concepts, we forget how original and revolutionary they truly are.(4) Man in the Image of God. Other ancient Near Eastern myths tell us that man was created to do the drudging work of which the gods had grown weary. Genesis tells an entirely different story. Man was created in the image of God, to be fruitful and multiply, and rule the earth. Regarding the image of God, often called the imago Dei, I went into a little bit of philosophy to explain what that could possibly mean. I suggested that the mainstream Christian view is that of ontological personalism—although many people get it wrong and think that it is empirical functionalism. This latter view says that personhood is being able to perform certain functions—such as rational thinking. Well, that means fetuses, people in a state of coma, and even people who are asleep are not persons! Ontological personalism says that we are a rational soul. So, the imago Dei is part of our substance, so we can't lose it.There is a fifth point I wanted to make but that I did not have time to discuss, and it is a crucial point to the Christian story.THE ORIGINAL PLAN WAS GOOD BUT THEN…THE FALLAuthor Sandra Richter in The Epic of Eden describes God's original intent by pointing out that the creation narrative is not complete in six days—there is a seventh day. On that day God rested. On the seventh day creation is as it should be, so God could stop to rule over all of it. God and creation were in peace. With that in mind, Richter concludes:In sum, Genesis 1 tells us of God's first, perfect plan—a flawlessly ordered world infused with balance and productivity. Here every rock, plant and animal had its own designated place within God's design, a God-ordained space in which each could thrive, reproduce and serve the good of the whole. And we see from the structure of Genesis 1 that the force that held this peaceful and productive cohabitation in balance was Yahweh's sovereignty over all. But as Day 6b makes clear, God chose to manage this creation through his representative ʾAdām. Thus humanity is given all authority to protect, maintain and develop God's great gift under God's ultimate authority. This is who Yahweh is, who humanity is and how both relate to the creation. And regardless of how you choose to harmonize science and Bible, this message is clearly part of the intent of Genesis 1. I would say it is the primary intent.Then Richter makes the connection between Genesis 1 and the repeating theme of the book of Genesis: covenant.You may have noticed that my description of Genesis 1 sounds a lot like the relationship between a vassal and his suzerain; a relationship in which the vassal is given full autonomy within the confines of his overlord's authority. When this reading of Genesis 1 is wedded to Genesis 2, the profile of covenant becomes even clearer. Here the suzerain (Yahweh) offers his vassals (Adam and Eve) the land grant of Eden with the stipulation that humanity care for it and protect it.Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate [ ʿābad] and keep it [šāmar]. (Gen 2:15)In addition to this perfect place, Adam and Eve are given each other (Gen 2:18-25), and as is implied by Genesis 3:8, they are given full access to their loving Creator. The only corner of the garden which was not theirs to use and enjoy was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil:From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die. (Gen 2:16-17)In essence, Adam and Eve are free to do anything except decide for themselves what is good and what is evil. Yahweh reserves the right (and the responsibility) to name those truths himself. (Emphasis added)This was Adam and Eve's perfect world. Not just fruit and fig leaves, but an entire race of people stretching their cognitive and creative powers to the limit to build a society of balance and justice and joy. Here the sons of Adam and the daughters of Eve would learn life at the feet of the Father, build their city in the shadow of the Almighty, create and design and expand within the protective confines of his kingdom. The blessing of this gift? A civilization without greed, malice or envy; progress without pollution, expansion without extinction. Can you imagine it? . . . This was God's perfect plan: the people of God in the place of God dwelling in the presence of God. Yet, as with all covenants, God's perfect plan was dependent on the choice of the vassal. Humanity must willingly submit to the plan of God. The steward must choose this world; for in God's perfect plan, the steward had been given the authority to reject it.But then the fall came. And, surprisingly, then redemption came too.God's perfect plan (and humanity's perfect world) was a matter of choice. Did ʾAdām want this world? Or one of their own making? The ones made in the image of God could not be forced or coerced, but instead were called upon to choose their sovereign. And choose they did. Whenever I think of this moment, the lyrics of Don Francisco's old folk song echo in my mind: “And all their unborn children die as both of them bow down to Satan's hand.”16 God's original intent was sabotaged by humanity, stolen by the Enemy. ʾAdām rejected the covenant, and all the cosmos trembled. Genesis 2:17 makes it painfully clear what the consequences of such an insurrection would be: in that day, “you shall surely die.” But amazingly, mercifully, even though Yahweh had every right to wipe out our rebellious race, he chose another course—redemption. In a move that continues to confound me, God spared the lives of Adam and Eve (and their unborn children) by redirecting the fury of the curse toward another—the battered flesh of his own Son. This is the one the New Testament knows as “the last Adam” (Rom 5:14; 1 Cor 15:22, 45). And although the first Adam did not die, the second surely did. But we are getting ahead of ourselves.Introduction to ActsWe are finally done with our brief exploration of Genesis, and we are ready to start discussing Acts. We should introduce the book first and consider its genre, date, author, and historical context. Next week we will finally fall into our trusted pattern of reading scripture and discussing its main points. Believe me, I am as ready as you are to start doing that.GenreAs we begin the study of Acts, just like with Genesis, we need to ask the question of genre. Except in this case, there is hardly a question. Virtually everyone agrees that Acts is narrating history. The only (rather nuanced) debate is whether Acts is historiography or biography. (I am using the term historiography to refer to a genre of literature. Using the term “history” can be confusing because one is not certain whether the claim is that the text intends to convey historical facts or whether those historical facts are true.)Historiography vs BiographyWhat's the difference between historiography and biography? Roughly speaking, biography focuses on one person, his life, his accomplishments, and his character. Historiography focuses on something other than a person (although it may discuss notable individuals at length), such as an event, a nation, or a movement. Is Acts about the life of Paul? Or, is Acts about the early church?I bet your question is a different one: why does it matter? The truth is it does not matter much, but it could change our interpretation of certain passages. When we ask question like, “Why would the author include this material?” or “Why would he omit that information?”, our choice of genre matters.Anyways, I will keep the discussion of this topic brief.Biography ProposalBiography is the most common genre proposal after historiography. This proposal retains for Acts the same genre usually assigned to the Gospel of Luke. To many scholars, extending the Gospel's genre to the second volume seems a logical step. Acts, as a continuation of Luke's Gospel, provides parallels of Peter and Paul with Jesus, as one might expect in the ancient genre of parallel lives or in ancient double biographies. Moreover, Acts falls in the correct length range for ancient biographies.Despite many biographic elements, however, Acts self-evidently does not constitute a biography of a single figure. In fact, it seems less interested in sketching vivid portraits of past heroes than in tracing the spectacular development of “the way.” Certainly Acts focuses on major characters, but Acts does not focus on a single character. Even Paul, its dominant and climactic example, functions as an agent of the work's driving theme, the gospel's expansion. Acts closes not with his death but with his proclamation in Rome. Despite its biographic emphases, Acts thus functions as historiography carried out partly in a biographic manner.Historiography ProposalThe genre proposal most supported by scholars is that of historiography—to be more precise, that of a historical monograph (i.e., a one-volume historiographical text). As a historical monograph, it is a work covering a specific historical topic. In contrast to listing events by year in annalistic fashion (a common type of text in the ancient world), some ancient historians would write monographs that arranged their accounts around a main theme. Various factors support the thesis that Luke conceives of his project as primarily a history of some sort. Unlike in a novel, Luke uses sources abundantly in his first volume (i.e., the Gospel of Luke) and presumably in his second volume as well, although we cannot distinguish them clearly in Acts. Luke's claim to investigate or have close acquaintance with his information (Luke 1: 3) fits historical works, and his occasional use of the first-person plural emphasizes the involvement considered ideal for a good Hellenistic historian. Speeches, the preface, the employment of world history as a context, and other features support this understanding of the work's genre. Luke's extensive use of public monologues in Acts plainly fits the conventions of ancient histories but not of biographies or novels. Luke-Acts also includes what appear very much like the prefaces found in histories. When possible, Luke sets his events in the context of world history, just as historians (and almost exclusively historians) did in their histories (Luke 2: 1– 2; 3: 1– 2; Acts 18: 12).Although it should go without saying, we must be careful to distinguish ancient historiography from modern historiography. We should not demand ancient historians to conform precisely to modern historiography. Ancient historians sometimes fleshed out scenes and speeches to produce a coherent narrative in a way that their contemporaries expected but that modern academic historians would not consider acceptable when writing for their own peers. This contrast reflects the different interests of ancient and modern historiography: ancients emphasized a cohesive narrative more than simple recitation of facts; moderns value exactness in details much more than the rhetorical flow of the narrative for their audience.DateViews on the date of Acts range widely. No particular proposed date between 64 A.D. and 90 A.D. is absolutely compelling. The centrist position (70s– 80s), has by far the most adherents; probably the early date (60s) is second in number of adherents; a date in the 90s ranks third; and the second century boasts the fewest adherents. I will only discuss the two most widely held views.Pre-70Usually, scholars arguing for a pre-70 date contend that Acts ends where it does because the events had unfolded only this far at the time of Luke's writing, that is, about 62 A.D. I will discuss the reasons for this view and their potential responses by scholars who hold to the “centrist view.”Both ancient and modern interpreters have asked and argued: Why else would Luke devote a quarter of Acts to Paul's trial and appeal yet not record the outcome? Scholars respond that these abrupt endings were not entirely uncommon. Examples would include the Gospel of Mark and Thucydides text on the Peloponnesian War. Granted, they might add, if Luke recorded Paul's Roman hearings in Jerusalem and Caesarea for use at a trial before Caesar, this material was clearly compiled before Paul's death. One can, however, still affirm a later publication of the material. Moreover, Luke could have suppressed explicit mention of Paul's death because it did not suit his larger narrative purpose (e.g., martyrdom). Luke is under no obligation to narrate Paul's execution, the centrist would claim, because his climax is the gospel reaching the heart of the empire. Finally, the number of Greek words in Acts is nearly the same as for the Gospel of Luke, which may have been the fullest length for Luke's normal scrolls. In other words, Luke may have run out of room when writing Acts.Scholars supporting a pre-70 date have also advanced other arguments favoring this position, drawn especially from the setting the book seems to address. One argument is based on Luke's failure to describe the temple's destruction as past. Other arguments to date Acts before 70 AD include:- Acts portrays Jews as being both a spiritual and political power who had influence with Roman courts, an unlikely situation after 70.- Expectation of Roman justice would be unlikely after the Neronian persecution of 64–65.- Acts betrays almost no knowledge of Paul's letters.Post-70The argument for a date after Paul's death follows from the usual premise that Mark wrote before Luke. Papias reports that Mark wrote what he had heard from Peter; if this language suggests that their relation is past, it probably points to a date after Peter's death. If Luke wrote after using Mark, he presumably would be writing after Peter's death as well and presumably after Mark's Gospel had begun circulating among churches in urban centers.Most scholars believe that Luke 21 (e.g., Luke 21: 20; cf. 23: 29– 31) reflects the accomplished fall of Jerusalem and argue that Luke wrote Acts after completing his Gospel. However, one could counter that most of the discrete elements in Luke 21 could date from before the war of 66–70; various Jewish figures predicted judgment on Jerusalem and its temple before its demise, and the language recycles Septuagintal descriptions of Jerusalem's earlier sufferings. Certainly, Jerusalem's judgment was in view before 70 A.D. (Luke 11: 50– 51; Matt 23: 35– 36).Most scholars today suggest dates between 70 and 85, with some as late as 90. This range of dates is before Josephus's publications. (Scholars who suggest a later date for Acts often also suggest that it is based or influenced by the works of Josephus.)Author of Luke-ActsToday almost all scholars acknowledge that Luke and Acts share the same author. Beyond this general agreement, a majority of scholars agree that Luke was a Gentile, writing for a largely Gentile (or, perhaps more accurately, mixed Gentile and Jewish) Diaspora audience. A much smaller number, though probably still the majority, argue that the author was at least a short-term companion of Paul. Of possible candidates in Pauline literature who fit this description, Luke the physician (Col 4:14) is the likeliest candidate historically and also the one supported (despite his relative obscurity) by subsequent Christian writers who claimed access to earlier sources no longer available to us. Let's explore that last claim a little further.Luke the PhysicianIf we treat Acts the way we treat analogous historical works from its era we should accept the work's eyewitness claims as authentic indications of the author's presence. Internal evidence points strongly to a Christian who accompanied Paul on a small number of his travels and should have become well acquainted with him especially on the journey to Jerusalem and Rome. Although the external evidence is less important, it strongly points to Luke “the physician” (Col 4: 14) as the author, a claim that tradition is not likely to have invented (given Luke's relative obscurity). The external and the internal evidence are compatible, making Luke the likeliest author.The primary reason for many scholars treating “we” in Acts differently than they would in most other ancient historical works is the argument that a genuine traveling companion of Paul cannot have so misunderstood him. (As we study Acts we can examine this assertion further. Is Acts really at odds with the letters of Paul?)What is some of the external evidence that supports Luke the physician as the author of Acts? Irenaeus (ca. 180 A.D.) attributes Acts to Luke. The same is true of Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Origen, and others. Moreover, a very early manuscript (175–225 A.D.) calls the gospel the “Gospel according to Luke.” Simply put, our earliest external evidence unanimously supports Luke's authorship. Given his relative obscurity, this is probably not coincidence.Finally, and admittedly of less importance, the language is consistent with that of a physician.Gentile or JewWhether we believe the author of Luke and Acts to be Luke, can we determine whether the author is Gentile or Jew? From his geographical competence and his interpretation of Judaism, it is certain that he was not a Palestinian Jew. He may have been a Diaspora Jew with interests in the Gentile mission, but given his relationship to Judaism and perspectives, many scholars prefer the idea that he was a Gentile. Scholars who, on other grounds, identify the author with the Luke mentioned in Col 4: 14 will likely also conclude that he was a Gentile. If Luke was a Gentile, he was nevertheless one with considerable experience of Judaism. Although he could have acquired much of this knowledge as a Christian, it is reasonable to suggest, as some scholars have, that he may have been a God-fearer with a long-standing knowledge of the Diaspora synagogue. His immersion in the Septuagint, however, is considerable; if he did not grow up with it, he must have acquired it long before and thoroughly, for he knows how to write Greek with a “biblical” or “Jewish accent,” so to speak.AudienceScholars often suggest that Luke's audience was wealthier and more highly educated, on average, than that of the other Gospels. Luke dedicates his work to a “most excellent” Theophilus (Luke 1: 3), a title suggesting that Theophilus was probably a person of prestige and rank in society. Although Theophilus is an explicit “narratee,” no ancient audience would assume that the dedicatee was necessarily socially representative of Luke's ideal audience. One might dedicate a work to a patron who would be of higher rank than the clients who heard the work read, for example, at one of the banquets sponsored by the patron. Nevertheless, by addressing Theophilus as at least a part of his audience, Luke appeals to a person with some status in the larger society. Luke further emphasizes many people of status following the Way (e.g., Luke 8:3; 23:50–51; Acts 13:12; 17:4; 28:7); likewise, he portrays Paul's status as relatively high, a point of interest to any ancient hearer but perhaps especially to another person of status. Although his Gospel contains the most sweeping condemnations of the accumulation of wealth (e.g., Luke 3:11; 12:13–21, 33; 14:33), his very emphasis on this issue might suggest an audience that can afford to be challenged in the area of generosity. Finally, an educated audience would best appreciate the elements of classical rhetoric alongside the appropriate stylistic variations for different settings.What we can possibly conclude from this is that Luke's target audience is relatively stable (and hence not hostile to the culture). Luke is positive toward the culture without needing to sound polemical about the need to separate from it.Luke's ideal audience appears to be urban, Greek, and perhaps in officially Romanized cities such as Corinth and Philippi and would be familiar with some measure of education and with public orations, Jewish religion, and some philosophic ideas.The question as to whether Luke's audience is largely Jewish or Gentile may be, in one sense, a forced dilemma. By this period the Greek churches included a sizable number of Gentiles; Philippi had never had a large Jewish population to begin with. At the same time, most of these churches grew from synagogues or at least Jewish prayer groups and would include a sizable number of Jewish people. Finally, we are ready to start reading Acts!

Do you ever feel yourself being torn between what you know is the right thing to do and what you really want to do?  If you answer, "no," either you're not telling the truth, or the battery of your conscience has gone dead.  The struggle is an old one.  Even Paul experienced the conflict.  He candidly told of the battle which waged in his heart.  He said, "When I want to do good, I don't; and when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway" (Romans 7:19, Living Bible).

You've probably heard it before that everyone has a gift. That's true — especially within the Church. Every true believer has a spiritual gift granted unto them by the Holy Spirit to further the cause of the Church and defeat the forces of the Enemy on the planet.In this episode, Lori from Remnant Rising joins us to describe the spiritual gifts we have and how they affect us in real, powerful ways. She also tells us how to discover our spiritual gifts and practice them so that they do not atrophy. Hiding our gifts is a victory for the Enemy!If you want to discover your spiritual gifts and think you have the true faith needed to edify the Church on earth, tune in to this episode.Here are three reasons why you should listen to this episode:Discover the spiritual gifts granted to you by the Holy Spirit.Learn how your spiritual gifts empower you to defeat the Enemy and share the truth of God's Word.Understand what it means to have true faith in Jesus Christ and how to utilitlize the Spiritual gifts God has intended.Want to be part of what God is doing through the Revelations Podcast? You can contribute here!ResourcesMore from the Revelations Podcast: Website | Instagram | Apple PodcastLori:  https://www.instagram.com/remnantrising5.0/Get Lori's New Book- Live Like a Champion-https://loribrazier.com/Bible Verses:Ephesians 4:11-12Ephesians 5:111 Cor 12:1-111 Cor 1:4-7Hebrews 11Joshua 10Deuteronomy 322 Timothy 1:6Ezekiel 4:7Romans 12:1-81 Peter 4:9-11Prophetic Warrior by Emma StarkThis Episode is brought to you by Advanced Medicine AlternativesGet back to the active life you love through natural & regenerative musculoskeletal healing: https://www.georgekramermd.com/Episode Highlights[04:49] Lori's Childhood and Remnant RisingLori started Remnant in 2020 using a personal page that doubled as a business page. She thought of the title “Remnant Rising” in the evening while talking to God.She says that several of her online accounts were deleted. She believes it's because she thinks she's exposing truths people want to keep hidden.Lori refuses to consider what other people think due to the power of her conviction and faith.[16:10] Lori: “The bottom line is to further the Kingdom. It's to edify the Church and further the Kingdom.”[16:41] The Source of Spiritual GiftsWhen we place our faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to live within us and gives us a new perspective on everything.We also receive special abilities to use for the Kingdom.Every person is given a gift based on their faith.Lori believes that spiritual gifts empower us, and says that we are “weaponized” by Heaven.[25:49] Understanding Supernatural RevelationsLori describes “rhema words” — passages or words that you read that just jump out at you with their power.[27:07] Reagan: “It's sometimes in word of knowledge and information that the Lord wants us to pray about or think about.”According to Lori, God knows what you need and will send it to you.God will use anyone to send you His message.[30:04] Who Has Spiritual Gifts?Every believer has at least one spiritual gift. Believers with the gift of faith help encourage others to trust God.Prophecy is another spiritual gift that allows people to speak in the language of Heaven.Deliverance from demons is a gift from the Holy Spirit.Lori fully believes that faith gives us the divine strength to alter the natural outcomes of life in a supernatural way through prayer.Healings are miracles, but miracles are more than just healing. Examples include the parting of the Red Sea and Daniel being saved from lions.[42:05] Examples of Spiritual GiftsProphecy is just the ability to speak God's message and explain it. Lori doesn't want to say she's a prophet, but says she can prophesy as a teacher.Some people can also discern spirits and see spiritual influences in places, people, or decisions.Still others can speak in tongues — the Heavenly language.Listen to the full episode for more examples of spiritual gifts.[56:46] Desiring More of the SpiritBefore prophesying, we must hear the Lord's Word.[57:52] Lori: “We have to learn to listen, we have to learn to be quiet, because it's hard to just shut off your mind and not have some other agenda.”The more we practice our gifts, the closer we can get to understanding.It's possible to pray for spiritual gifts if it comes from a place of true faith.Even Paul instructs us to earnestly desire these gifts.[1:08:11] How to Discover Your Spiritual GiftsThere are online tests people can take to help discern their spiritual gifts.Several verses in the Bible list samples of spiritual gifts. Reading the Bible can help you discover yours.Lori believes that spiritual gifts exist today — despite what other sources of information might tell us.About LoriLori is an author of two books and loves to study scripture. Connect with Lori on InstagramEnjoyed this Episode?If you did, subscribe and share it with your friends!Post a review and share it! If you enjoyed tuning in, then leave us a review. You can also share this with your friends and family. This episode will educate you on becoming aware and discerning the hidden truths in today's world.Have any questions? You can connect with me on Instagram.Thank you for tuning in! For more updates, tune in on Apple Podcasts. 

Acts 15:36-41

Thursday, 7 September 2023   But we sailed away from Philippi after the Days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days joined them at Troas, where we stayed seven days. Acts 20:6   In the previous verses, it noted that some of those traveling with Paul went ahead of him to Troas. However, Luke accompanied Paul by ship. That can be discerned from the next words, “But we.”   Luke includes himself in the narrative. He and Paul “sailed away from Philippi after the Days of Unleavened Bread.”   The word “Bread” should be italicized. The Greek simply gives the adjective azumos, not leavened. The timing shows that the span spent in Corinth was the winter months. The Feast of Unleavened Bread is in the spring. Having left that area and going through the area of Macedonia, they met up with Luke in Philippi. With Unleavened Bread complete, Luke obviously decided to join him on his trip and sailed with him. From there, it says, “and in five days joined them at Troas.”   The Greek reads “until five days.” It is a way of indicating the duration of the voyage between Philippi and Troas. In Acts 16, the same trip appears to have taken only three days. The reason for the longer trip could be either because there was a contrary wind as they traveled eastward, or it could be that they made a few more stops to offload and onload cargo.   Either way, Luke's providing the specific timeframes shows his meticulous nature. He carefully records such things, providing details often not found in other narratives that he later compiled. Once having reached Troas, Luke next says, “where we stayed seven days.”   Although it is impossible to know for certain, it is generally accepted (and likely) that they stayed a full week to ensure they could participate in one week of fellowship together. This will be seen in the coming verse.   Life application: It is known from this verse that Paul observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Based on this, Judaizers are adamant that we too must observe the Feasts of the Lord. This is obviously wrong for several reasons.   First, Paul was a Jew. Gentiles are not Jews. Gentiles were never given the law, and Christ fulfilled the law, setting it aside through His work. As this is so, it makes as much sense as making a tennis puck to observe something never mandated and which is now obsolete.   Even Paul did not feel compelled to do such things any longer. He clearly indicates that we (including himself) are not under law but under grace. That is found in Romans 6:14, 15 –   “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!”   Second, Paul clearly dismisses such observances in Colossians 2:16, 17 –   “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.”   Dietary laws, Sabbaths, and feast observances simply anticipated Christ. They have no substance but are mere shadows that anticipated Him.   Third, Paul explicitly explains what we are to do at Passover and Unleavened Bread in 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 –   “Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”   The words “let us keep the feast,” meaning the feast that Paul just got done observing, do not mean “observe as Israel observed.” Rather, he explains that the physical rites observed by Israel anticipated spiritual truths. He does this with the words, “not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”   This is exactly what he meant in Colossians 2. The physical rites of Israel were mere shadows that pointed to spiritual truths. Keeping the feast for a week each year is replaced with living in sincerity and truth throughout the year. The feasts only anticipated our lives in Christ.   If this is so, then why did Paul observe the feast? The answer is found in 1 Corinthians 9 –   “For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; 20 and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; 21 to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but underlaw toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; 22 to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. 23 Now this I do for the gospel's sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.” 1 Corinthians 9:19-23   Paul's actions were to bring people to Christ. If that meant observing a now obsolete fest, he was up to it. If it means having a super yummy pulled-pork sandwich at Demetrio's Diner, he was up to it. Paul's only goal was to have people come to Christ.   Don't allow uneducated, legalistic people to ruin your walk with Christ through such silly notions as “It is pleasing to God to observe these points of the law.” If you must observe any point of the law, you must observe the entire law – perfectly. Choosing the law over the grace of Christ is a self-condemning act. You do not have the right to pick and choose which laws you will observe and which you will not. You have placed the entire burden of the law on your shoulders. Good luck with that.   Lord God Almighty, thank You for the grace which is found in Jesus Christ our Lord. Help us to never fall back on our own supposed deeds of personal righteousness, assuming that they can make us right before You. Instead, may we hold fast to what Jesus has done and live our lives from that perspective. Thank You for the freedom we have because of Your grace lavished upon us. Amen.

Even Paul and Barnabas, in Acts 15:46-16:10, fall into conflict. They let their ministry desires rule them. But God's grace is bigger! God continues to use both of them as they learn to trust God's grace and yield to God's Spirit. Listen to consider what this looks like practically in our lives.

Summary: I have slowly come to better understand the reality of the spiritual battle we face in Ephesians 6:12. Many years of focusing on Bible doctrine caused me to only pay lip service to the idea that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers.” I have always acknowledged this battle, but I never conceived of it as spiritual wickedness manifesting itself in a physical way. The Lord is revealing to me just how physical these principalities truly are!This Episode brought to you by: Our Premium Subscribers or “Seekers” William C.Aimee J.Bruce C.Scriptures:All Scripture references are from the King James Version of the BibleExodus 20:5-6, 1 Corinthians 10:20, Genesis 3:14, Genesis 4:11-12, Deuteronomy 28:15, Deuteronomy 28:41, Malachi 4:5-6, John 9:1-2, Mark 7:25, Mark 9:17-29, Hebrews 8:12, Malachi 4:2, Jeremiah 17:14, 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, 2 Corinthians 12:7-10Takeaway:I have decided to pray and ask for deliverance from generational curses and unclean spirits in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Can we not ask the Lord to heal us today? Can we not seek to break the cycle of a generational curse or portal that was opened that led to demonic oppression in our lives? Even Paul sought to pray for deliverance from a demonic entity, a messenger sent from satan to buffet him. It's up to the Lord to heal us, if it is in accordance with HIs will.Links:Website: https://biblemysteriespodcast.comSubscribe: https:/https://biblemysteries.supercast.comEmail: unlockthebiblenow@gmail.comDonate: ttps://secure.subsplash.com/ui/access/BDJH89

Even Paul, with his great compassion for his fellow Jews, had his limits when it came to his audience.

The Beast's Great Deception (4) (Audio) David Eells - 3/15/23 A Giant on the Levee Adele Frederick - 2/9/23 (David's notes in red) I dreamed it was dark and I was outside. I was in Bridge City near the fire station and the Mississippi River levee. (This is where Avondale Shipyard used to be, and it has now just been sold to Port of South Louisiana and been re-named Avondale Global Gateway.) (This gateway is a gateway to invasion under cover of darkness which should be prayed against.) There were people running around and there was a Chinese woman in a black police uniform telling everyone to go inside. She seemed very nice. We had to go inside to be safe. (They had to go inside so they couldn't see the giant coming over the levee.) Then I looked over at the levee and I saw a giant man, as tall as a skyscraper, standing on it. He was so tall; all I could see was from his thighs down. The rest of his body was surrounded in a thick fog. He was so tall. (This giant man represents a corporate body of people; a secret invasion. The Chinese have bought up many of our toll roads and ports etc. Thick fog indicates a deception.) As soon as I saw the giant, it came to me that this is a hologram and a deception. (Could this be a “look here, don't look over there” false flag, i.e. a distraction?) Then I woke up. When I received this dream, I wrote an email to President Trump saying the following: Mr. President, I have sent you warnings of things to come and have been very accurate. 3 years before the plague I told you it was coming and would ultimately cause the death of many. We just got a warning dream about the newly bought Avondale shipyard. A giant man (probably Chinese, since those in control were Chinese) standing on the levee of the old Avondale shipyard between the water and the land. (A large corporate body invasion over the levee?) Shipping containers come in that way. Since it was sold to someone and renamed Avondale Global Gateway, could it represent a gateway for the Chinese CCP to invade? I heard an invasion under the Canadian border by the CCP was stopped by the US military by bombs 2-3 years ago. Also, the Chinese were run out of the west coast when the military bombed the underground bases there. The DS definitely wants the CCP in here to overthrow the US. It would be interesting to see if leftists bought the port to enable this. When she saw the giant Chinese man as large as a skyscraper standing on the levee, her thought was, This is a deception, it's a hologram. GOD BE WITH YOU. Your servant, David (Adele said, “I've never dreamed anything like this before. I believe this dream is a confirmation of Mary Baxter's revelation from the, The Beast's Great Deception (1) broadcast on 2/12/23.”) Chinese Covertly Planned Famine Isaac Payne - 2/5/23 (David's notes in red) (… As the Chinese spy balloon was coming within proximity to Ohio, I asked Father whose device this was and what was their purpose. I wanted the real news which is why I asked Father in prayer. Marianna and I prayed in agreement for a dream.) Then I had a dream where I was witnessing, in the Spirit, a farmer tending his crop. The farmer was wearing overalls and a red, straw hat and holding a corn hook. The farmer looked like he was from the 1800's based on his attire. (This farmer could represent a corporate body of farmers across the country.) (I remember that the tool looked like a sickle, but I knew it wasn't. I looked it up on the internet and found out that the corn hook was invented in the 1800s. The corn was green and still unripe, not being ready for the harvest. The farmer was dismayed as half his crop was decimated and trampled over and now worthless. (The Chinese spy balloons could have been mapping our countries crops to perform a targeted destruction of America's food supply. Their crops will be partially destroyed by the enemy. This is how communists take over by controlling the food supply.) Surrounding the farmer was United States Soldiers from this 21st century and they were technically advanced. (21st referring to great wickedness, rebellion, and willful sin.) (As we have seen, God will bring judgment through famine.) They were wearing camouflage and surrounding the farmer and his crops on all sides. (Camouflage representing covert operations by the DS military.) They held the farmer at gun point and were blatantly destroying his crops. The farmer was noticeably angry yelling at them in desperation for destroying his lively hood and dumbfounded by the obvious treason of the United States. (There have been massive protests by the farmers all over the world and here, too, farmers have been forced to destroy their own crops on the threat that if they don't it will get sprayed.) Then I woke up. Luk. 21:10-11 Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be great earthquakes, and in divers places famines and pestilences; and there shall be terrors and great signs from heaven. (I know there are much greater signs to be seen in the heaven, but I thought this was interesting as this balloon was a sign for me to pray to Father to reveal the plans of the enemy in a dream.) Rom. 8:35-37 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Even as it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.) (Let's transition here to a spiritual aspect of the enemy's attack. Jesus gave parables of physical crops which represented spiritual crops. The physical was a sign of the spiritual.) Black Dragon Burns Up the Tares Marie Kelton - 3/11/23 (David's notes in red) During the meeting, I had an open vision. I was looking across farmland that had grass on it. (The grass represents the fleshly in God's farm. Peter said, “All flesh is as grass.”) The sun was setting, I could only see half of it above the horizon. (The sun is setting on the Babylonian DS Empire.) The sky was a purplish orange color. (Their royalty is being destroyed.) I then saw a huge black dragon come from the sky and land on the farmland. The farmland was covered in thorn bushes that were bare. (The fruitless, porcupine, factious, cursed, apostates destroyed by Babylon on its way down as we have been shown many times.) The dragon (Representing Babylon?) Breathed fire out of it's mouth and burned up the thorn bushes. I saw this a couple of times. (Joseph said, “because the dream was doubled it shall surely come to pass.” It will come to pass because "His recompense is before Him.” Jesus comes first as the Man-child to destroy the Edomites as David did.) Old Weeds Pulled As Revival Begins Claire Pienaar - 10/14/22 (David's notes in red) (I represent the Bride in this dream, as my name means “brilliance”, which denotes the “lampros garment” of righteous acts of the saints as mentioned in Rev 19:8 And it was given unto her that she should array herself in fine linen, bright and pure: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.) I dreamed I was in my parents' old home. (They represent the original Church and its gospel. Gal 1:8-9: But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema. …) (Another Gospel is being preached everywhere with a form of godliness but denying the power thereof, and judgment has to follow.) We were working in the garden. It was unbelievably messy and there were weeds and much poor overgrowth. I did not pull the weeds and bad plants out, only my dad did that but, I was watching and helping to tidy up. (Claire's dad represents the Father who will uproot all the tares and bad overgrowth out of His “garden”. Mat. 15:13 Every plant which my heavenly Father planted not, shall be rooted up. And Mat. 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn. The Bride helps to “tidy up” by preaching the unleavened bread of the Word which naturally separates the tares from the wheat.) I was then aware that my grandmother was at a nursing home, and a woman from the home texted my mom to tell her, “There are terrible sounds coming from her room. She is dying. Come quickly”. I thought, “my grandmother is already dead”, so this confused me slightly in the dream. (The mother of the harlots has been dead a long time, but many are still trapped in her dead religions.) (We are spiritual children of the gospel once and for all delivered through Jesus Christ, so the grandmother represents the original apostasy we've all come out of. Even Paul came out of the apostasy of his day.) My mother dropped all the weeds and went to my grandmother's room in the nursing home. …She left me to clean up the rest of the garden with my dad. I knew my grandmother was dead, and I didn't understand why my mother wanted to go to a dead body. (Mat. 8:22 But Jesus saith unto him, Follow me; and leave the dead to bury their own dead.) We bundled all the weeds that were now pulled out of the garden, into big black trash bags. I remember, in the dream, …that I seemed happy to be helping my dad. All I saw in the garden now were only perfect, tall rose stalks with a few beautiful roses. Some were red, some were pink, some were white. (I think the colors might represent the stages of our walk: walking completely under the blood 30-fold, then walking in love 60-fold, then walking in the light of the Son -100fold. The Rose of Sharon is Jesus). (Song 2:1 I am a rose of Sharon, A lily of the valleys.) Then, In the dream, I was transported to this place, that was like a wilderness or outdoor church camp for tweens and teenagers. (As we will see, the revival will begin amongst the young people.) My children were there. One young girl named Ruth was sharing her testimony about how she came to Christ. (Ruth means “friend” and her loyalty was rewarded by allowing her, a Moabite [Gentile bride, to be married to David's line, the man-child.] We are all supposed to be loyal to the promises of the Gospel so that we, too, can birth Christ). She said she was star gazing one night and, in the sky, she saw the stars spell out: “He made it ALL. He loves YOU.” My children were stoked to see this message in the stars, as she had taken a photo of it and had it up on a slide show or presentation. I think I might have helped her switch on the little projector. (The Bride helps to “project” Jesus which will contribute to awesome testimonies during this last great revival.) Then I was transported into the image, and I saw the stars come together by His words. Then it zoomed out and I realized she'd only captured one part of the message. The entire complement of stars had a message written in them that He wanted us to see and hear. It was too beautiful and too shiny, and I marveled. I can't remember the message. I think some of the tweens there started seeing bits of the extended message too, because there was much jubilation and many had little fire sparklers they were waving around excitedly. (Revival) (Gen. 15:5: And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and number the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.) I kept on having flashes about my dead grandmother but just chose to enjoy this joyous moment with my children. Then I woke up I asked the Lord for a word by faith at random for this dream and received Ezekiel 39:21 (finger on my glory”): “And I will set my glory among the nations; and all the nations shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them. I asked The Lord for one more word, and received Isaiah 1:16, (in context 16-17): Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek justice, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Excerpt from Ministering Angels Through UBM (3): Eve said, “I asked the angel Shemuel if he had anything to say” and he said, “A great move of God is coming upon the younger generations. There is a mildew and rottenness that has been cast upon this crop by satan; a perpetual darkness, so that the Son has not shown upon them. They languish and rot in the field and their fruit is poisoned. But the Son is coming to shine down upon them and he will burn up all the disease and mildew of their lives and the heat of His fire will burn through them and cleanse and restore them to the purpose they were created for. There has never been a revival like this that will sweep the whole earth. This will be entirely an act of God; supernatural and undeniable. He will not forsake the youth of this final generation.” (Well, we can see the youth being revived, no longer satisfied with powerless religion.) Angels Ask to Serve Us in the Harvest Revival Brian - 12/14/2007 (David's notes in red) I had a dream that I was standing outside, staring at the sky. It was dark and the sky was full of stars. As I was looking up, the moon and the stars started moving around in a crazy circle very fast. (The moon and stars represent God's people bringing light to the night. This reminds us of Joseph's dream of the sun/Father, moon/Mother, and stars/brethren. Gen. 37:9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed yet a dream: and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars made obeisance to me. Joseph was the man-child. This was a revival.) When they stopped, some of the stars made the shape of a large fish in the sky and started blinking like a neon sign. (The great fish in heavenly places represents a great corporate harvest of fish after many nights.) What looked like smoke then started coming down from the sky from where the fish was toward me. I was scared and started running toward this house. The smoke was following me. As I went into the house and turned around, much to my surprise, the smoke took on the shape of a huge angel with wings. (The angels that came to us said they were going to help the saints during this great revival.) It then started waving at me very friendly-like. I turned around to tell whoever was in the house that there was an angel outside waving to me. When I turned back around it was daylight and there were now many angels, and they were standing right in front of me. {Heb.1:14} Are they (angels) not all ministering spirits, sent forth to do service for the sake of them that shall inherit salvation?) They looked like people and they all had pen and paper in their hands, ready to write. They greeted me and asked if I needed anything. (The angels serve our needs in the work of bringing in the fish, among other things.) I said, "Can you make sure Lisa Tate and her family are saved?" (Lisa is a childhood friend that I had been having dreams about lately.) One of the angels said, "We can't see that someone is saved but we are here to see if you need anything". ("You have not because you ask not".) The End. The Lord confirmed this dream days later through my 3-year-old nephew who was spending the weekend at my mother's house. He just blurted out on that Sunday afternoon that he had a dream that night that the Sun, Moon, and Stars all got into a boat that was in the water. I have to say the goosebumps grew quickly. (1 Co.15 likens the Sun, Moon and Stars to the different stages of growth of God's people. Here they are caught in a boat like fish.) It was then that the Spirit led me to a book called "The Witness of the Stars" by E. W. Bullinger, where I think I found the fish. I had no idea that the zodiac had the biblical story. I guess Satan has counterfeited everything. This is what I found in book 2, chapter 2: "Piscis Australis" (The Southern Fish) This first constellation is one of high antiquity, and its brilliant star of the first magnitude was a subject of great study by the Egyptians and Ethiopians. It is named in Arabic "Fom al Haut", "The mouth of the Fish". There are 22 other stars. (It is the fishes' hunger from God that causes them to be caught.) The constellation is inseparable from Aquarius. In the Denderah Zodiac it is called Aar, "A Stream". It sets forth the simple truth that the blessings procured by the MAN - the coming seed of the woman, will be surely bestowed and received by those for whom they are intended. There will be no failure in their communication, or in their reception. What has been purchased shall be secured and possessed. (This is true of Jesus and Jesus in the end-time man-child company of Rev.12.) PS: Zodiac, ancient word Zoaz, "the path", or "the way". (The Bible speaks of constellations of the Zodiac positively, but men have turned these good signs into astrology, which is idolatry.) Angels Ask To Serve Us in The Harvest Excerpt from Ministering Angels Through UBM (3): The angel Baruch said, “There is a time coming soon when the fire of our God will be sent down upon His people and the events we've spoken to you about previously will begin to take place. Supernatural gifting and abilities will be bestowed upon the saints by angels with these assignments. (Some don't know that angels manifest the gifts.) These angels will have greater freedom with regards to appearances and communications with the saints. They will have the command to assist and equip the saints in their end time assignments and gifting's, but instructions will still be given to the saints on a “need to know” basis because of the nature of mankind and the limitations of their vessels.” (Mena Lee Jones just had a dream that many people were about to die. Before leaving Egypt to go into the wilderness tribulation, there was the Passover, which was very specific because it took out the Egyptians who were persecuting God's people. This is like when David came to the throne and he judged the Edomites who were persecuting God's people.) The Righteous and the Wicked David Eells In 70 AD the Romans came and slaughtered the Jews who crucified Jesus and His disciples. This was the reason Josephus gave for their destruction. He was hired by the Romans to write their history. There were piles of bodies when the Romans entered the city. Faction fell on the Jews, and they killed each other because they factioned against Jesus and His disciples. Of course, the Christians were commanded to flee to the mountains when they saw this beast army, so the obedient Christians escaped. This is very similar to today, but it is a worldwide scene because the spiritual Jews circumcised in heart are world wide and so are their crucifiers the satanist DS in Church and state. President Trump and the Alliance are doing a God ordained Job in destroying the DS army of crucifiers. They are putting to death traitors, pedophiles, bisexuals, homosexuals, traffickers, child sacrificers, slanderers and liars around the world. Homosexual Agenda: The Second Plague of Frogs Deb Horton sent this revelation to us: Way, way back when, we learned in biology class that frogs can change their sex, sometimes based on external influences, i.e., lack of the opposite sex nearby, chemical pollution, etc., but sometimes for no discernible reason. So, what are we being plagued with today? Gender "fluidity," "transitioning," LGBTQxyz. (The DS in Church and state have common demons of perversion which frogs represent.) Frogs were the second plague of Egypt. Howard Pitman saw a frog demon enter a person that caused him to lust. He also said that frog demons are so nasty that they're outcast as pariahs, even in hell. (Exo.8:1) And Jehovah spake unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, Let my people go, that they may serve me. (2) And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs: (3) and the river shall swarm with frogs, which shall go up and come into thy house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneading-troughs: (4) and the frogs shall come up both upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants. (Psa.105:30) Their land swarmed with frogs In the chambers of their kings. ("Chambers" there is "bedrooms.") (Rev.16:13) And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, as it were frogs. Our Cyrus/Trump and the Alliance are taking down Babylon by the multitudes. And the Babylonians are taking down those apostates who do not believe God's Word and have rebelled against Him. And Jesus is coming to finish the job on these perverts in Church and state. Pray for the elect among them to come out. Sometimes we think things are going too slow, but our Lord is trying and purifying us in the meantime. He is and will separate the tares from the wheat. Because of this He showed me today to concentrate on Psalm 37, which guarantees God will bring down the evil ones who claim to be the Church while they kill God's Children like their Babylonian dragon has done. Psa 37:1-40 A Psalm of David. Fret not thyself because of evil doers, Neither be thou envious against them that work unrighteousness. (Because they cannot prosper for their latter end is written. It is a fact shown in all of history since Cain killed Abel.) 2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb. 3 Trust in Jehovah, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on his faithfulness. (Doing good while the wicked do bad is the test and Jesus showed us how to overcome in this by denying himself to go to His cross. He is faithful to finish the good work He started in us and to destroy our enemies. All you have to do is look at them and you know this and are so grateful you are chosen.) 4 Delight thyself also in Jehovah; And he will give thee the desires of thy heart. (Today we delight in the Lord and praise His Holy name as He binds the enemy and executes vengeance as He said in Psa. 149.) 5 Commit thy way unto Jehovah (Lord, Keep our feet in the narrow path! Thy word is a lamp unto our feet and light unto our path.); Trust also in him, and he will bring it to pass. (He is in absolute control of the wicked so we can trust Him.) 6 And he will make thy righteousness to go forth as the light, And thy justice as the noonday. (As we take up our cross to follow Him.) 7 Rest in Jehovah (Cease from self works or you fail the test.) and wait patiently for him: (He says vengeance is mine, I will repay.) Fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, Because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. (Fretting is like thinking of what we should do in their regards. It is also worrying about what they think they can do. Greater is He who is in you than He that is in the world, meaning satan and his children.) 8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: Fret not thyself, it tendeth only to evil-doing. (Cast down vain thoughts that make you mad at those who are demon possessed and don't even know what they are doing.) 9 For evil-doers shall be cut off (Look at them; they are already being cut off in spirit and soul and soon to be in body.); But those that wait for Jehovah, they shall inherit the land. (Wait for Him, don't get ahead of Him, for there is failure. They do as they please without conscience, but their time is so short, while you are eternal if you abide in Him and let the Word be your conscience. According to the parable of the sower 3 out of 4 fail this trial and those that fail are many times the persecutors.) 10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: Yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and he shall not be. 11 But the meek shall inherit the land And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. (The land is this carnal life which the spiritual man is sown in. When the old man is dead there is peace. But to the wicked there is no peace says our Lord.) 12 The wicked plotteth against the just, And gnasheth upon him with his teeth. (In their hatred they constantly plot the overthrow of the righteous, we have heard them, but…) 13 The Lord will laugh at him; For he seeth that his day is coming. 14 The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, To cast down the poor and needy, To slay such as are upright in the way. (The true God sees it all. It is the parable of Cain's attack on Abel replayed but Abel had a born again image in Seth. Eve said, “God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel.” Why instead of Abel? It is because Abel and Seth were sons of God but Cain was of the evil one.) 15 Their sword shall enter into their own heart, And their bows shall be broken. (Father says, I will curse them that curse thee. …And they will fall into their own traps.) 16 Better is a little that the righteous hath Than the abundance of many wicked. 17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken; But Jehovah upholdeth the righteous. (Some have thought that the end of Babylon in the world and church would never come but it is happening.) 18 Jehovah knoweth the days of the perfect; And their inheritance shall be for ever. 19 They shall not be put to shame in the time of evil; And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. 20 But the wicked shall perish, And the enemies of Jehovah shall be as the fat of lambs: They shall consume; in smoke shall they consume away. 21 The wicked borroweth (and stealeth), and payeth not again; But the righteous dealeth graciously, and giveth. 22 For such as are blessed of him shall inherit the land (This is both spiritual and physical.); And they that are cursed of him shall be cut off. 23 A man's goings are established of Jehovah (Because He works in us to will and to do of His good pleasure as we walk by His faith.); And he delighteth in his way. (It is a delight to walk with the Lord and see His works!) 24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For Jehovah upholdeth him with his hand. 25 I have been young, and now am old; Yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his seed begging bread. (And so, it shall be.) 26 All the day long he dealeth graciously, and lendeth; And his seed is blessed. (Look at the seed of the wicked and you will see ruin, satanism, lesbianism, bisexuality, homosexuality, theft, fornication, hatred, and all the works of the flesh and hell if they don't repent.) 27 Depart from evil, and do good, And dwell for evermore. 28 For Jehovah loveth justice (So He said men would reap what they sow), And forsaketh not his saints; They are preserved for ever: But the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. (Paul said, the children are sanctified in the believing parents.) 29 The righteous shall inherit the land, And dwell therein for ever. 30 The mouth of the righteous talketh of wisdom (For they love Jesus the Word, who is to us wisdom.), And his tongue speaketh justice. 31 The law of his God is in his heart; None of his steps shall slide. 32 The wicked watcheth the righteous, And seeketh to slay him. (This is literally so; they are stalkers.) 33 Jehovah will not leave him in his hand, Nor condemn him when he is judged. (Satan tells his children they will rule over the righteous, that they will see their revenge on the righteous, but God says it will not end this way.) 34 Wait for Jehovah, and keep his way, And he will exalt thee to inherit the land: When the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it. (Notice we inherit the Land before the wicked are cut off. The crucifiers have a job to do but their reward follows like it was with Judas.) 35 I have seen the wicked in great power And spreading himself like a green tree in its native soil. (Judas had the money of the righteous in his pocket but it was used to bury him.) 36 But one passed by, and, lo, he was not: Yea, I sought him, but he could not be found. (Jesus passed by and Judas did not follow.) 37 Mark the perfect man and behold the upright; For there is a happy end to the man of peace. 38 As for transgressors, they shall be destroyed together; The end of the wicked shall be cut off. (Look at the DS and so it will be with the DS claiming to be the Church.). 39 But the salvation of the righteous is of Jehovah; He is their stronghold in the time of trouble. 40 And Jehovah helpeth them, and rescueth them; He rescueth them from the wicked, and saveth them, Because they have taken refuge in him. (Abide in Him Saints and be happy.)

Wednesday, 8 March 2023   And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: “Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. Acts 15:7   In the previous verse, it noted that the apostles and elders came together for the purpose of resolving the matter concerning what to instruct the Gentiles. With that, Luke records, “And when there had been much dispute.”   It is the same word used in verse 15:2, zétésis. It is translated elsewhere as controversy, speculation, and so on. It signifies “a searching.” It is as if there was a formal debate of the matter, and those who were listening were thinking through what was being presented. It is during this course of events that “Peter rose up and said to them...”   Rather, as an aorist participle, it rightly reads, “Peter, having risen up, said to them.” One thing follows the other. By rising, it would indicate that he was prepared to speak. Thus, the audience would direct their eyes and attention to him, attending to what he would say.   It is of note that these are Peter's final recorded words in the book of Acts. It is the last time the name “Peter” is used in the book, and it is for the purpose of explaining salvation by grace through faith apart from the Law of Moses. His words will continue through verse 11 and they will refer to this idea of salvation by grace not only for the Gentiles but for the Jews as well. Understanding this, once risen, he began, saying, “Men and brethren.”   This is the same formal greeting used quite a few times already in Acts. It indicates that not only are they responsible adults, but they are brethren within the faith. It implies that, as brethren, a right attitude concerning his words should be considered. Next, he continues, saying, “you know that a good while ago.”   More appropriately, it reads, “you know that from early days.” In other words, what he will present is a fact that happened early in the establishment of the church. A precedent had been set and it was not to be dismissed or forgotten. It was a lesson that would bear on answering the question that was now being investigated. From there, he continues with, “God chose among us.”   The meaning is probably twofold. First, it is the selection of Peter to be the one to verify what God was doing as the church began. He was the main figure to speak to the people and witness the events of Acts 2. When the Samaritans were evangelized in Acts 8, the Spirit did not come upon them until Peter arrived to verify the matter. And then in Acts 10, it was Peter who was called to evangelize those in Caesarea.   Second, this selection of Peter to be the one to verify these things was at the mouth of the Lord Jesus –   “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.'” Matthew 16:17-19   The Lord directed Peter to be the one to validate these things, Peter did validate them, and he is now reminding the church of the things that occurred. With that, he refers to the events of Acts 10, “that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.”   This was the purpose of Peter's designation by Jesus. It was to confirm to the church what had been witnessed. When he refers to what occurred in Acts 10, he provides essentially the same formula as stated by Paul in Romans. The Gentiles hear the gospel and then believe. Paul says –   “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!' 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our report?' 17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:14-17   As for Peter in Acts, he will continue with his words, reminding them of a simple fact that has somehow escaped them.   Life application: Remembering that Paul was a Pharisee, a member of the group who has now been set against Paul in this dispute, it shows how deeply ingrained in us presuppositions and biases can become.   Paul had to literally be called out of that by the risen Lord. He was so adamant about law observance that he could not see beyond his own position. Once called, however, he was able to rightly process his calling. It was apart from any merit at all. Grace was bestowed upon him, and he responded accordingly.   The Pharisees are now being reminded of this as well. Until this point, they probably looked at Paul as an aberration, but their attitudes, not his, will have to be corrected. And how is that accomplished? It is through the words of Peter who witnessed the events that occurred when he was directed to the house of Cornelius.   In other words, it all comes back to the word of the Lord. That word, given to Peter, is now recorded in Scripture. We do not need a visible demonstration of the Spirit coming down upon the Gentiles. We do not need a vision from the Lord calling us to recognize Him and turn from our ways as Paul did.   These things are recorded. The precedent has been set, and the confirmation of them has come through Peter who was told that he would be the one to settle them. Even Paul's ministry was implicitly approved by Peter as is recorded in Galatians 1 –   “Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days. 19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord's brother. 20 (Now concerning the things which I write to you, indeed, before God, I do not lie.)” Galatians 1:18-20   These things are now recorded. They are sealed. And they provide our guidance and instruction in the word. If you see someone being bullheaded about their presuppositions and biases, there is no need to ask God to give him a sign. The word has been given. If you see a Muslim that doesn't know Jesus, there is no need to believe Jesus will pop into his room at night and convert him. The word has been given and it is our job to tell him what it says. Etc.   Go to the word! This is what God has provided to us for our understanding of Him and what He expects, for our doctrine, and for our daily conduct. Be sure to go to the word!   Lord God, the world – even among Christians – is looking for a show of Your hand in things to direct us. Instead, You have already given us all we need to see that Your hand is in the events around us. The word is given, and it is sufficient. Help us to realize this and to not look to what is hyped up or sensational. May we rely on the precious word that is filled with the knowledge that You are among us. Amen.  

‘Seasons of Change!'by Joshua Scott Zeitz“To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:”‭‭(Ecclesiastes‬ ‭3:1‬) NKJV‬‬Change is inevitable!The older I get, the more I am seeing this.My awesome pastor shared recently, talking about change.He spoke about a car that he used to own when he was younger, how it was at that time, the best thing ever! He eventually sold the car in order to purchase an engagement ring.Now I would say that was a pretty amazing thing to do!He then spoke about what it would be like if he was able to get one of those cars again, to restore it, and sit behind the wheel once more…Admittantly he said it would be nice, and perhaps even fun, but it would never be quite the same.Why is that?Well times change.We grow older.Things that used to appeal to us in certain ways simply don't carry the same weight anymore.And for good reason oftentimes.Even Paul said, “when I was a child, I thought as a child, I reasoned as a child, but when I became a man, I put away childish things…”As we mature in the Lord our priorities begin to change!The closer we get to Jesus, the more we begin to see things from an eternal perspective, the more we begin to see people like He does!People matter to God!Immensely in fact!He so loves us! We can't stop changeBut here is the Good News!God never changes! His Word is forever settled in Heaven!Why is this so important to see?Because we live in a crazy world where change, and oftentimes unwanted change is always occurringWhether its rapid technological advances, or shifting worldviews based on feelings, the fragile economy, or simply the next health scare, this world is inundated with crazy change!Not to mention the change that occurs in our personal lives, whether it be a change of vocation, a teen graduating high school, a loved one passing away, or simply our bodies growing older,Life is is full of seasons of change!Because of this, It is imperative that we cling to the Word of God like never before!That we put our hope and trust in the One who never changes!We need this stability!The world needs this stability!How can we face the crazy times of constant change?By being anchored to the One who remains the same!I want to end today by sharing a few passages of scripture that will help keep us anchored in the midst of vast seasons of change:“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever!” (Hebrews 13:8) NKJVThe Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. (Psalm 18:2) NKJV“Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven. Your faithfulness endures to all generations; You established the earth, and it abides.”‭‭(Psalms‬ ‭119:89-90‬) NKJV‬‬“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”‭‭(James‬ ‭1:17‬) NKJV“To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose UNDER heaven:”But the Great News is this: We serve a good good Father whose throne is IN Heaven, and He never changes!

     When someone hurts me, I sometimes react and feel the need to seek revenge. That is, to take the matter into my own hands and hurt the other person so that I feel the scales of justice are balanced. Revenge starts with a mental attitude in which we seek to harm an offender for the injury or offence they caused, whether that injury or offense is real or imagined. The desire to retaliate against the offender is generally followed by action to hurt them, whether physically, psychologically, emotionally, socially, financially, or legally.      The desire for revenge can be coupled with very strong emotions that help inflame the injustice in our mind and to relive it over and over, which can eventuate in mental bondage as we keep recalling the hurt. Also, an injured person may feel helpless and victimized by an oppressor, so hurting the other person can make one feel empowered. It is true that personal revenge can offer a temporary sense of closure or satisfaction, but it can also establish a pattern of behavior that can be exhausting and endless, as we feel the need to retaliate against all perceived offenders. God's Word speaks to the issue of dealing with offenders who cause hurt, giving directions on how we are to respond.      First, there is the positive directive concerning how to treat offenders. Jesus said, “I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:27-28). As Christians, we live in a fallen world and are surrounded by fallen people who, often unknowingly, help advance Satan's agenda. These fallen people are identified as our enemies who operate by the mental attitude of hatred, openly curse us, and will mistreat us if given the opportunity. Being an adversary who operates on hate, and who curses and mistreats us, are all things that do not rise to the level of dangerous harm. Even a slap on the cheek, or stealing our clothing (Luke 6:29) does not constitute a life-threatening situation that requires self-defense. Loving others does not mean: We expose ourselves to unnecessary harm. There were times when God's people hid from their enemies (1 Ki 18:13; Acts 9:23-25). Jesus faced hostile people, who at one time “picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple” (John 8:59). Paul was greatly hurt by a man named “Alexander the coppersmith,” whom he told Timothy, “did me much harm” (2 Tim 4:14a). Paul then warned Timothy, saying, “Be on guard against him yourself, for he vigorously opposed our teaching” (2 Tim 4:15). We trust all people. Jesus loved everyone, but He did not entrust Himself to all people, even believers. John tells us there were many who “believed in His name” (John 2:23), but then tells us that “Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men” (John 2:24). We fail to rebuke others when needed. When Jesus was traveling to Jerusalem, He passed by a village of the Samaritans (Luke 9:51-52) whose residents “did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem” (Luke 9:53). Luke tells us, “When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, ‘Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?'” (Luke 9:54). But this was a wrong attitude, so Jesus “turned and rebuked them, and said, ‘You do not know what kind of spirit you are of'” (Luke 9:55). We interact or befriend people who are hostile to God (Prov 13:20). Solomon said, “Do not associate with a man given to anger; or go with a hot-tempered man, or you will learn his ways and find a snare for yourself” (Prov 22:24-25). Scripture also states, “do not associate with a gossip” (Prov 20:19), and “do not associate with rebels” (Prov 24:21), for “Bad company corrupts good morals” (1 Cor 15:33; cf. 1 Cor 5:11). The apostle Paul, when writing to Timothy, described the sinful attitudes and actions of people committed to godlessness (2 Tim 3:1-5a), and told his friend to “avoid such men as these” (2 Tim 3:5). We forfeit the right to defend ourselves physically or legally when we come under attack. Paul, who at one time took a beating with rods (Acts 16:22-23), later used legal force by exercising his rights as a Roman citizen to protect himself from a flogging that might have killed him (Acts 22:25-29). And Paul eventually appealed to Caesar, hoping to gain a just trial (Acts 25:7-12).      By wisdom we come to know when to turn the other cheek and when to stand up and push back, as self-defense is valid if the injury rises to the level of great physical harm, is life-threatening, or threatens to harm or kill a loved one (see my article on Is Self-Defense Biblical?). Even though we may defend ourselves, we must never stoop to the place of hatred toward our enemies, but must always maintain love for them and be willing to forgive and help if/when possible.      As Jesus' disciples, we are to love (ἀγαπᾶτε) our enemies, do good (καλῶς ποιεῖτε) to those who hate us, bless (εὐλογεῖτε) those who curse us, and pray (προσεύχεσθε) for those who mistreat us. All four of Jesus' directives are in the imperative mood, which means they are commands to be understood and obeyed. To love our enemy means we care about them and seek God's best in their life. To do good to those who hate us means we are kind and giving when possible. To bless our enemy means we wish them well rather than harm. To pray for our enemy means we ask God to save and bless them, even though they seek to mistreat us. Love manifests itself by doing good, blessing, and praying for those who hate us. This is not mere passivity, but requires great discipline of the mind and will, which can be contrary to our emotions. Nor does such behavior imply weakness on our part. Jesus, the theanthropic person, possessed all power sufficient to destroy His enemies, yet He restrained His power for the sake of love and grace. Divine truth, not feelings, must be what guides our thoughts, words, and actions. According to Joel Green, “Love is expressed in doing good—that is, not by passivity in the face of opposition but in proactivity: doing good, blessing, praying, and offering the second cheek and the shirt along with the coat.”[1] Paul, when writing to Christians in Rome, used similar language, saying, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse” (Rom 12:14). As Christians, when we think and act this way, we are like the “sons of the Most-High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men” (Luke 6:35). This is accomplished by faith and not feelings. Sproul is correct when he states, “We may not be able to control how we feel about them, but we certainly can control what we do about those feelings.”[2]      Second, there is a negative directive in which we are not to retaliate or seek personal revenge. The Lord said, “You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD” (Lev 19:18). The apostle Paul said, “See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people” (1 Th 5:15). Peter wrote, “All of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing” (1 Pet 3:8-9). Solomon wrote, “He who returns evil for good, evil will not depart from his house” (Prov 17:13). He also wrote, “Do not say, ‘I will repay evil;' wait for the LORD, and He will save you” (Prov 20:22). Concerning this verse, Allen Ross states, “Leave retribution to the Lord. Let him bring about a just deliverance…The righteous should not take vengeance on evil, for only God can repay evil justly (cf. Rom 12:19–20).”[3] Bruce Waltke says this verse “suggests that the Lord will help the disciple by compensating him justly for the wrong done to him. The Helper will both compensate the damage and punish the wrongdoer.”[4] And David Hubbard adds: "Vengeance is an activity too hot for any of us to handle. Its motivation is selfish; its execution is usually extreme; its result is to accelerate conflict not to slow it down. In short, vengeance is God's business not ours (Deut 32:35; Rom 12:19; Heb 10:30). All human sin is sin against Him, so He is the ultimate victim; only He can judge accurately the damage done; only He can distribute fairly the blame; only He can exact freely the proper penalty. We are not entitled to ‘play God' at any time."[5]      The challenge for us is to put the offense in God's hands, trusting He sees, and that He will dispense justice in His time and way. For this reason, Scripture states, “Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God” (Rom 12:17-19a; cf. Deut 32:35; Heb 10:30). Again, this requires discipline of mind and will, and is executed by faith and not feelings.      Third, place the matter in the Lord's hands and let Him dispense justice in His time and way. The Bible teaches that God is the “Judge of all the earth” (Gen 18:25) and that He dispenses justice upon those whose who deserve it. Scripture reveals the Lord is a “God of vengeance” (Psa 94:1) and will punish the wicked. And Nahum tells us, “A jealous and avenging God is the LORD; the LORD is avenging and wrathful. The LORD takes vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserves wrath for His enemies” (Nah 1:2). God told the Israelites if they listen to His voice, “Then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries” (Ex 23:22). Paul, after instructing Christians not to seek their own revenge, explained that God will handle the matter, saying, “for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord” (Rom 12:19b; cf. Deut 32:35; Heb 10:30). And again, “It is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you” (2 Th 1:6). Even Paul did not seek his own revenge when hurt by Alexander the coppersmith, but said, “the Lord will repay him according to his deeds” (2 Tim 4:14). According to Warren Wiersbe, “The word vengeance must not be confused with revenge. The purpose of vengeance is to satisfy God's holy law; the purpose of revenge is to pacify a personal grudge.”[6]      It is true that God may extend grace to His enemies and those who hurt us, as He gives them time to repent and turn to Him for forgiveness. We must always remember that we were God's enemies and terrible sinners before we came to faith in Christ, and God waited patiently for us (see Rom 5:8-10), for God is “not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9). But God's grace does not last forever. At death, all of life's decisions are fixed, and what the unbeliever does with Christ in time determines his eternal destiny. If a person goes his entire life rejecting God's grace, not believing in Christ as Savior (John 3:16; 1 Cor 15:3-4), then he will stand before God at the Great White Throne judgment and afterwards will be cast into the Lake of Fire (Rev 20:11-15). It is at that time that God will deal out “retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (2 Th 1:8-9). Wiersbe states, “Certainly, the wicked who persecute the godly do not always receive their just payment in this life. In fact, the apparent prosperity of the wicked and difficulty of the godly have posed a problem for many of God's people (see Psa 73; Jer 12:1; Hab 1). Why live a godly life if your only experience is that of suffering? As Christians, we must live for eternity and not just for the present.”[7]      Fourth, if we fail to follow the Lord's directives to love, do good, bless, and pray for our enemies, and instead decide to take matters into our own hands and seek revenge, then we are sinning against God and open ourselves up to divine discipline. The very punishment we may seek to inflict upon our enemies may be administered to us by the Lord, and this because we are walking by sinful values rather than being obedient-to-the-Word believers. However, if we put the matter in the Lord's hands and let Him dispense justice in His time and way, we can rest assured that He will bring it to pass, for He says, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay” (Rom 12:19b), and it is “just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you” (2 Th 1:6). Plus, when we learn and live God's Word by faith it frees us from the tyranny of hurt feelings which can be fatiguing to the mind and toxic to the soul. Summary      In closing, we are to obey the words of Jesus, who  tells us to “love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:27-28). Assuming the hostility never rises to the level of requiring self-defense (which does not negate loving the attacker), we are to tolerate the hostility and abuse and respond in love by doing good, blessing, and praying for our enemies. It's ok to hurt, but not to hate. Operating from divine viewpoint, we walk by faith and trust God to handle the matter, knowing He is the “Judge of all the earth” (Gen 18:25) and that “it is just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you” (2 Th 1:6), as God states, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay” (Rom 12:19b). In this way, we will follow the example set by Jesus, who, “while being reviled, He did not revile in return; and while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously” (1 Pet 2:23). If we live as God directs, abiding by the royal family honor code, then He will dispense justice upon our attackers in His time and way. The challenge for us is to discipline ourselves to learn God's Word and live by faith, not our hurt feelings or circumstances.     [1] Joel B. Green, The Gospel of Luke, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997), 272. [2] R. C. Sproul, A Walk with God: An Exposition of Luke (Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications, 1999), 115–116. [3] Allen P. Ross, “Proverbs,” in The Expositor's Bible Commentary: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 5 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991), 1046. [4] Bruce K. Waltke, The Book of Proverbs, Chapters 15–31, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2005), 152. [5] David A. Hubbard and Lloyd J. Ogilvie, Proverbs, vol. 15, The Preacher's Commentary Series (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1989), 308. [6] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 194. [7] Ibid., 194.

Many of us have prayed, but the truth is everyone can learn to be better at praying. Even Paul told us he needed help from the Holy Spirit of being able to pray! Thankfully, Jesus gave us the Lord's Prayer as direction for public prayer, but that it can also be used for our personnel prayer life too. Hear Jon speak about it in this sermon.This sermon is a part of our sermon series, Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done.ABOUT THIS SERIESThy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done is all about taking an honest look at the Christmas story to experience all the heartwarming and heartbreaking pieces of the story.This is the sixth sermon of the sermon series, Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done. You can watch the full sermon here: https://www.youtube.com/live/88u41L6D0B0?feature=share&t=1667NEXT STEPSIf you have a next step you would like to take, go to https://bit.ly/FCCNextSteps.WE'RE OPENWe're continuing to monitor guidelines and best practices for gathering safely. Learn more about everything we're doing to keep you safe and how you can help by using hand sanitizer, washing your hands often, and more. Learn more at https://fccbrazil.org.Like, comment & subscribe to stay updated with the latest content!FOLLOW First Christian Church:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/firstchristianchurchofbrazilindianaFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/fccbrazilInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/fccbrazilTwitter: http://www.twitter.com/fccbrazilTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fccbrazil?

Even Paul needed encouragement sometimes when it came to representing Jesus.

     In the previous lesson, we observed how Judah's culture was improved from the top down, as good King Josiah led national reforms, and the people responded positively to him. Below is a NT example in Acts 19 of how the city of Ephesus was improved culturally from the bottom up, as a result of the apostle Paul's preaching the gospel and biblical teaching over several years.      The apostle Paul came to the city of Ephesus, and as was his custom, “he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God” (Acts 19:8). Paul's normal ministry pattern was to preach to Jews first, then to Gentiles (Rom 1:16; cf. Acts 13:46; 17:2; 18:4, 19). However, there were some Jews with negative volition who rejected Paul's teaching, who “were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the people” (Acts 19:9a). Paul did not argue with them, nor did he try to force his teaching on them. Rather, “he withdrew from them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus” (Acts 19:9b). It's very possible Paul was renting a room at the school in order to host his daily Bible classes. Luke tells us, “This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks” (Acts 19:10). Though Paul was teaching, he continued to work with his hands to support himself and his traveling companions (Acts 20:34), and it's possible the seven churches of Asia were started as a result of Paul's ministry in Ephesus (Acts 19:10; Rev 2-3). In addition to Paul's teaching, we learn “God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out” (Acts 19:11-12). In this way, God was authenticating Paul's apostolic authority and validating him as a true servant of the Lord. Ephesus was a city known for its occult practices, and there were some unbelievers who thought they could borrow the name of Jesus and use it to advance their own agendas. We learn there were some “Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, [and] attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, ‘I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches'” (Acts 19:13). These men were identified as “Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this” (Acts 19:14). But the results were not what they expected, as “the evil spirit answered and said to them, ‘I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?'” (Acts 19:15). The question implied they had no authority, “And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded” (Acts 19:16). Though these exorcists tried to use the name of Jesus in the form of a verbal incantation to control evil spirits, it backfired on them and caused personal harm, and the event “became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived in Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified” (Acts 19:17). The failure of these Jewish exorcists became widely publicized and began to draw people to hear the Christian message. Furthermore, many of “those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices” (Acts 19:18). Those who “had believed” were Christians who had not completely let go of some of their pagan practices, but now they were willing. Luke records, “And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver” (Acts 19:19). Though it took nearly two years, these Christians were finally willing to let go of their past practices by burning their magic books and turning fully to the Lord. The value of these books totaled a large financial sum, as each piece of silver was probably equal to a day's wage. “Ephesus was known for its magic, and apparently the Christians had not yet put away all such evil practices. So they brought their books and scrolls of magic and burned them as an open repudiation. Then—after the believers made their relationships with the Lord right—the Word of God grew and prevailed.”[1] The result was that people were being transformed from the inside out and Ephesian culture was positively impacted for Christ, as “the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing” (Acts 19:20). Here we see cultural improvement in the lives of those who were positive to gospel preaching and biblical teaching.      These events marked the high point of Paul's ministry in Asia. However, some pagan craftsmen who made their living selling statuettes of Artemis felt threatened by the cultural changes that were taking place (Acts 19:23-27). Acting out of rage and economic self-interest, they formed a mob and stormed the city theater, even dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, two of Paul's traveling companions, who undoubtedly felt threatened by the uproar (Acts 19:28-29). Paganism has no real answers to Christianity, and when threatened, many will resort to violence to suppress the advance of truth. Though Paul wanted to address the mob, he was prevented by friends who were concerned for his safety (Acts 19:30-31). The riot lasted for several hours with great intensity (Acts 19:32-34), until eventually the crowd tired out, at which time a city official reasoned with them to bring their complaints to the courts, where matters could be handled lawfully and peacefully (Acts 19:35-41). These events likely occurred between AD 52-55. We know Paul was marked by these events (2 Cor 1:8-9), and by the end of his ministry around AD 62-64, everyone who once supported him in Ephesus turned away from him (2 Tim 1:15). By AD 95 the church in Ephesus had grown cold and lost its “first love” (Rev 2:4).      In this pericope we observe that gospel preaching and biblical teaching can, over time, bring about positive cultural change. However, we must keep our focus on evangelism and biblical teaching, and not reducing Christianity to a methodological system merely for the purpose of effecting social change (i.e., a social gospel). We also observe in Acts 19 that when Christianity does bring about positive cultural change, it threatens those who love and live by their paganism, and when this happens, people may resort to violence to suppress the biblical teaching. Lastly, gospel preaching and biblical teaching does not always yield large or lasting results. Remember that Noah preached for 120 years, but only seven persons besides himself were saved (2 Pet 2:5), and Jeremiah preached for 23 years to the same group of leaders in Israel, but they refused to listen (Jer 25:3). Jesus came as the Light into the world, but the majority of those who heard and saw Him rejected His message, as they “loved the darkness rather than the Light” (John 3:19). Jesus informed us that “the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it” (Matt 7:13), whereas “the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matt 7:14). The result is that there will continually be believers and unbelievers in the world, as the wheat and tares will grow side by side until Jesus returns and establishes His earthly millennial kingdom (Matt 13:36-42). Even Paul did not always get the same results in each city where he preached, for though he had many disciples in Iconium, Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe (read Acts 14), there were only two positive responses in Philippi, namely Lydia (Acts 16:14-15), and the Philippian jailer (Acts 16:27-34). As Christians, we are more concerned about our godly output rather than the responsive outcomes of those we interact with; for though we can control our godly life and good message, we cannot control how others will respond to it.      Lastly, we live in the reality that there will always be resistance to God's work in every Christian ministry because the world is fallen and Satan desperately wants to keep everyone—both saved and lost—thinking and acting according to his world-system. New Christians will inevitably face many obstacles, because at the moment of salvation, their minds are not automatically filled with Scripture and their characters are not instantly changed to be like the character of Christ. The process of being transformed into the character of Christ and learning to think biblically involves many thousands of decisions over a lifetime, in which worldly viewpoint is driven from the mind as the believer's thinking is renovated and brought into conformity with Scripture. Without regeneration and positive volition to God and His Word, biblical discussion is hindered and the appropriation of Christian values to culture is not possible. Christians who are learning God's Word and growing spiritually will prove to be the moral fabric of any community, as they manifest the highest and best virtues within society, not the lowest and worst. And the Bible is our sword by which we destroy spiritual and intellectual strongholds, within ourselves and others (2 Cor 10:3-6), realizing true cultural change occurs through preaching the gospel and consistent biblical teaching. As Christians, we should always pray for our leaders (1 Tim 2:1-2), strive to be upstanding citizens (Rom 13:1-7; Tit 3:1; 1 Pet 2:13-14), help the needy in our communities (Acts 20:35; 1 Th 5:14), and above all, share the gospel and preach God's Word (1 Cor 15:3-4; 2 Tim 4:1-2). As we grow spiritually and walk with God, we stand in opposition to Satan's world-system and sow the seeds of spiritual insurrection in the lives of those who live and walk in his kingdom of darkness. We disrupt Satan's kingdom when we share the Gospel (1 Cor 15:3-4), and influence the thoughts and lives of others through biblical discussion (Matt 28:18-20); which we do in love and grace (Eph 4:14-15; Col 4:6), not by argumentation (2 Tim 2:24-26).   [1] Charles C. Ryrie, Acts of the Apostles, Everyman's Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1961), 102.

The relationship between ministry and money has always been a tricky subject. Even Paul had practical needs in order to survive and argues that he has a right to compensation through such work. However, Paul also says he doesn't not make use of this right so that in asking it does not hinder the Gospel. So how is Paul able to provide the Gospel free of charge? He was provided for by generous and mature Christians. So reasonably, money does help further the Gospel because of practical needs, but we cannot "hinder the Gospel" in asking for support.The whole gang is back together for the first time in awhile. Connor goes into the financial situation of TBC as well as what Pastor's do in a week. Oh, and, Jason met an interesting character on a recent conference trip.Watch the Soto's Testimony Video Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oibN2-xlRqIIf you would like to watch the video podcast, find us on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMhDfGn0zfzi6XjcKkSVcFAFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/discovertbcInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/topekabiblechurch/?hl=enWebsite: https://www.discovertbc.com/

A new MP3 sermon from Institute of Biblical Defense is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Colossians part 16-Even Paul needed Friends Subtitle: Colossains Sermon Series 2022 Speaker: Dr. Phil Fernandes Broadcaster: Institute of Biblical Defense Event: Sunday Service Date: 9/25/2022 Length: 51 min.

The Gospel Saves Us into True Friendships Colossians 4:7-18 Introduction Good morning, Church! My name is Trent Houck, and I am one of the Pastors here at FCBC. We are closing out our series on the book of Colossians with this 18th sermon on the book. Over the past weeks, we have heard the Gospel preached through: Steve Walker, Ryan Patterson, Billy Mogensen, Dave Gibson, David O'Hara, Javier Sepulveda/Ben Tyson, Josiah Gerbitz, and Benj Foreman. We have been meditating on the truth of God's word that: 1.Jesus is enough (Col. 1:1-8) 2.Jesus is the one we run to in prayer (Col. 1:9-14) 3.Jesus is enough because he is preeminent (Col. 1:15-20) 4.Jesus' sufficiency saves us from our insufficiency (Col. 1:21-23) 5.Jesus' presence in us is the hope of glory! (Col. 1:24-29) 6.Jesus is our treasure of wisdom and knowledge (Col. 2:1-5) 7.We receive Christ, and walk in him (Col. 2:6-7) 8.Jesus is captivating (Col. 2:8-15) 9.Jesus is the substance and fullness of God (Col. 2:16-19) 10. Man made rules keep us from Christ (Col. 2:20-23) 11.Jesus is a worthy object for our new minds (Col. 3:1-4) 12.Christians slay sin because Jesus is enough (Col. 3:5-11) 13.Christian Community is defined by love (Col. 3:12-17) 14.The Gospel determines family order (Col. 3:18-22) 15.Christ's Kingdom is worth working for (Col. 3:23-4:1) 16. Christians preach the Gospel! (Col. 4:2-5) 17. Christians are saved to preach the Gospel prayerfully, wisely, and graciously (Col. 4:2-6) 18.Finally: The Gospel saves us into true friendships (Col. 4:7-18) All of this is to highlight our central theme: Rooted in Christ 6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. But, what does all this actually look like? It would be so easy for all of us to walk away from Colossians with better theology, more insight, and deeper interest in the person and work of Christ and to miss the connection to real people in real places. The final section of Colossians means to show us that the Gospel saves us into true friendship. That is to say, that when you have been reconciled to God, that necessarily means that you are in right standing with your brothers and sisters in Jesus. In other words, when you come to Christ, when you become a friend of God, you inherit all of Jesus' friends also. Illustration 1: (1st service just imagine) So, I would like to begin this section by illustration. I need 10 volunteers. (Count them out). Once I call you out, come on up and sit in a seat on the stage. Each of you will represent one of the people mentioned in Colossians 4:7-18. Let's hear God's word. Read the Text 7 Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord.8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts, (1) 9 and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here. (2) (Ask Tychicus and Onesimus to go sit down) 10 Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, (3) and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him), (4) (Ask this group to stay) 11 and Jesus who is called Justus. These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. (5) (Stay) 12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. 13 For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. (6) (Ask Epaphras to get into a prayer posture) 14 Luke the beloved physician greets you, (7) as does Demas. (8) (Ask to wave and look dignified) 15 Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, (Left Side of the Sanctuary) (Ask congregation to say: "Greetings!") and to Nympha and the church in her house. (9) (Ask the congregation on the left side to say: "Hi Nympha!) 16 And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. (Ask the congregation to say: "You got it, Paul!") 17 And say to Archippus, “See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.” (10) (Ask the Congregation to say: "We'll tell him!") 18 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you. (Self) (Ask the congregation to celebrate volunteers and the close of the letter). Prayer: Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, we come before your word now in order to allow you to speak to our hearts. We recognize that this too is your word. In your sovereign plan, you chose to use these men and women to advance your Gospel. Help us to catch a vision of what this would look like for our own lives. Jesus, we praise you for your perfect life. The Father sent you, and you went for the joy set before, even enduring the cross. We thank you for your atoning death, for drinking the cup of God's wrath against sin, so that we might have friendship with God and fellowship with one another. Thank you for your resurrection, for the fact that you are now seated at the right hand of the throne in heaven, making intercession for us, even as we gather before you. Holy Spirit, give us a vision for Gospel-friendships and Gospel-partnerships here at FCBC. Give us the boldness, courage, and desire to lay down our lives for others, to trust each other, and to grow in maturity to the stature and fullness of Christ. We pray these things for the glory of God in Jesus' name, amen. Exegetical Introduction The Gospel saves us into true friendship. You don't have to look past the first verse in Colossians to see that Paul was a man who loved friendship. He writes in Colossians 1:1-2, "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother. To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae…" Timothy was one of Paul's closest friends. Paul writes of Timothy in Philippians 2:20, "...I have no one like him[Timothy], who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare" and "...you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel" (Phil. 2:22). Paul almost never worked alone, and when it came to writing his books, he gave credit to the co-author, Timothy. That's true friendship. Do you have these kinds of friends? Even a best friend? In many ways, the entire letter to the Colossians was an expression of friendship. We rarely write letters today, but the communication between Paul and Collosae was dripping with familial affection and love. Since Paul has come to know Epaphras, he has come to love him. And, a friend of Epaphras (who planted the church in Colossae, and wanted to plant more in the Lycus Valley) is a friend of Paul's. Paul loved to surround himself with friends. One author writes, “In the book of Acts there are more than 100 different Christians associated with Paul. He named sixteen different friends in Romans 16 alone! Here in Colossians he was true to form as he named ten people in closing.”[ Hughes, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon, 362. ] Why do you think that Paul had so many friends? Paul had friends because friendship is intrinsic to the Gospel. It's like pizza with cheese. You can't have pizza without the cheese. (I suppose, some of you can). Paul writes, "He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption the forgiveness of sins" (Colossians 1:14). You can't have the Gospel without the "us". That is, Jesus' decisive saving work in the life of the believer places you in a new kingdom. And, a friend of Jesus is a friend of mine, Paul says. In fact, Paul goes so far as to say that these relationships are brother/sister relationships. Because of Jesus' finished work, we are now family. Now, these new brothers and sisters are not only people who destroy your lego sets, leave their clothes out in your room, and savagely beat you at Monopoly. These are the kinds of brothers and sisters who get you presents at Christmas, help you with the dishes, and are people you'd like to emulate.[ Edit: Every isolated individual sipping Starbucks and reading their Bibles on Sundays thinking that they can have Jesus without the Church are sorely mistaken. Jesus without the Church, is Trent without Lauren. Jesus without the Church, is spirituality without realism. Jesus without the Church is not what Jesus died for. Jesus died for his bride. And, he calls Christians to live for her, to love her, to strengthen her. Because, after all, who hates his own body? ] Main Question/Tension: So, here is the main question for us this morning: are we actively engaging with these kinds of friendships here at FCBC? Are you a good friend? Paul has already detailed for us that sin breaks friendships down in a few ways. He writes, "Here [that is, in the household of God] there is not Greek and Jew [that is, friendship on the basis of racial or ethnic background], circumcised and uncircumcised [that is, friend lines because of religious background], barbarian [that is, friend lines on the basis of social status], Scythian [geography or obscurity], slave [economic status], free [citizenry]; but Christ is all [that is, what matters most] and in all [that is, in all kinds of people]" (Col. 3:11). Paul says, "none of these things need to divide you." However, because we live in a fallen world, left to ourselves we do divide over all kinds of things. We feel alienated by people who are different than us, and we sometimes actively or accidentally alienate those who would otherwise befriend us.This happens within our church even as it happens in our world. People want to form groups around age, gender, married, single, kids, no kids, hobbies, school choice, background, and the like. We naturally drift toward people who are just like us. Raise your hand if you have ever felt lonely. Have you ever wondered why? What's the solution to this sin problem? The answer is the Gospel. The Gospel saves us into true friendships. Here's what this means. The Gospel saves us into at least six kinds of friendships. We need all the types. And, we need to learn to become all of them as well.[ What Paul details here in this list of friends is that the Gospel rescues us into active friendship with a variety of kinds of people. This is good news, because the Gospel is not reductionistic. God knows that we need close friends, weird friends, old friends, new friends, lost friends, found friends, and everywhere in between. ] This is the good news: when we become friends with Jesus through his death, burial and resurrection, we have a friend who will never leave us or forsake us, and Jesus brings you into friendship with his best friends. Outline: The Gospel saves us into: 1.Commissioned Friendships (Colossians 4:7-9). a.These are friends we purposefully give away to others. 2.Comfort Friendships (Colossians 4:10-11). a.These are longtime childhood friends. 3.Commended Friendships (Colossians 4:12-13). a.These are respected friends that we look up. 4.Church Friendships (Colossians 4:15-16). a.These are friends that we'd only make because of the Gospel. 5.Collapsing Friendships (Colossians 4:17). a.These are friends who need support, struggling friends. 6.Current Friendships (Colossians 4:18). a.New Friends.[ Edit: a.What kinds of friends do you need? (Ask God for this) b.What kind of friend am you? (Ask your friends about this) c.What kinds of friends have you had in the past? (Praise God for this!) d.What kind of friend will you be in the future? (Ask God about this) e.What do I appreciate most about God's friendship with me? (Praise God for this!)] Main Point: The Gospel saves us into true friendships. Commissioned Friendships (Colossians 4:7-9) First, the Gospel saves us into commissioned friendships. We read, 7 Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord.8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts,9 and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here. Tychicus and Onesimus are commissioned friends. Tychicus was a loyal friend. He was faithful. He was with Paul when Paul went through really hard times. Paul wrote: "I was shipwrecked, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure" (2 Corinthians 11:25-27). Tychicus was there for all that. Many left Paul behind, but Tychicus stuck by him. As the Colossian letter is being written in Rome, someone had to volunteer to take it back. Paul was probably scratching his chin, wondering: who should I send to take this back to the Colossians? Tychicus had internalized this beautiful passage from Romans, "How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed, Tychicus? And how are they to believe in him in whom they have never heard, Tychicus? And how are they to hear without someone preaching, Tychicus? And how are they to preach unless they are sent, Tychicus? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!'" (Romans 10:14-16). As the final pen strokes of Colossians are being laid, I imagine that Paul is asking: Who will go for us? Tychicus steps forward. "Send me, I'll go." More than likely, tears filled Paul's eyes, realizing what he was asking. "Yes, Tychicus, you will go, but not without Onesimus." Onesimus looked up surprised. "Me?" Onesimus is a runaway slave. Paul says, "Yes you, Onesimus. I have a letter for your master Philemon that you will carry as well."[ Meynell, Colossians For You, 169. ] Tears fill Onesimus's eyes for other reasons. "Remember, Onesimus, 'Here in the body of Christ there is no…' "Slave or Free." Onesimus says. "Okay, Paul. I will go." Onesimus was being commissioned to apply the Gospel to a broken friendship and partnership with Philemon. And, Onesimus was being sent to repair the breach because, "If two believers cannot be reconciled, then either both or one is not in fellowship with God."[ Hughes, 364. ] Tychicus went to deliver the letter. Onesimus went as the embodiment of the message. Gospel proclamation necessarily means this kind of Gospel friendship. These two depart on their 1000 mile journey to the Colossians with their letters in hand, and one more (likely Ephesians). Do you have friends like that? If you know Jesus, you have a friend who was sent to deliver you a message. If you know Jesus, you know someone like Onesimus too: Jesus was the message (John 1). Paul has friends that he is willing to commission so that the Gospel advances in the world. He trusts them. He leans on them. He sends them. Paul sends Tychicus and Onesimus. Paul has commissioned friends. But, doesn't that leave Paul lonely? That leads us to our next point: Comfort Friendships (Colossians 4:10-11) Second, the Gospel saves us into friendships that bring us comfort. When we lose friends, it's really important that we are not left alone. So, God provides other kinds of friends. Paul writes, 10 Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him), 11 and Jesus who is called Justus. These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me So, Paul has three Jewish friends. These are friends who share heritage, upbringing, native language, and new life in Jesus. If you have been in foreign area for any length of time, you begin to hunger and thirst for your native language, culture, and norms. God graciously provides these three men to: a.Be in prison with him (Aristarchus) b.Be reconciled to him (Mark) c.Be with him (Jesus). Now, Paul highlights these men for a few different reasons: 1.The Colossians care about Paul! They want to know how he is doing. They want to know that he's alive, and how God is providing for him. They desire to pray for him and help him in any way they can. They are not indifferent to him. 2.The Colossians wondered about Mark. If the Colossians are aware of Mark's departure from Paul in Acts 16, they'll need to know that things are good between them now. As you remember, there was a point when Mark bailed on Paul, and it hurt him pretty badly! But, Paul wants them to know that they are in good hands if Mark comes their way. They've reconciled. 3.The Colossians needed to know who was safe. We don't know almost anything about Jesus called Justus. But,I think that Paul mentions him here so that if the Colossians have developed an apprehension to Jewish teachers because of the Colossian heresy, they would know that Jesus called Justus comes recommended by Paul. These are comfort, safe friends. They are people who continually encourage Paul's heart because they get him. These are friends with whom Paul would share inside jokes from his culture. They would know his native language. They would be able to speak in a unique way to the matters of his heart. But, doesn't Paul also need to be challenged? This leads us to our third point: Commended Friendships (Colossians 4:12-14) Third, the Gospel saves us into commended friendships. These are friendships with people that we look up to in the faith, or at least those who are peers with us. Even Paul needed to see examples of faith. He needed to be encouraged by church planters and missionaries. He needed to be reminded of the Gospel. He writes, 12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. 13 For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. This is quite a commendation! "Praise from the praiseworthy is above all rewards."[ Attributed to Tolkien. ] To have the hard-working, prayerful Paul say: "That guys is hard-working! That guy is prayerful!" is a deep commendation of Epaphras' spiritual fitness. This was encouraging to Paul. Paul didn't always have good days. There were times that Paul was really lonely, scared, fearful, and depressed, just like we would be if we were in his situation. We read in 2 Corinthians 1:8-9, 8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead (2 Corinthians 1:8-9). There were also times when Paul was anxious: 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant? (2 Corinthians 11:28) Epaphras reminded Paul of why he was doing what he was doing. Epaphras was a church-planter, a missionary. Paul's own life was reflected in Epaphras. And, Jesus' life was reflected in both. So, Paul commends three things about Epaphras: 1.His prayer life. Epaphras prays often "...always struggling on your behalf…" He prays specifically "...that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God."[ Edit: We know that Epaphras was also in prison with Paul (Philemon 23). While being chained, Epaphras knew that the most effective work that he could do for the kingdom was through prayer. ] 2.His work ethic. "He has worked hard for you." Epaphras is not in this for self-glory, but for Gospel advancement. He hits his knees, preaches, teaches, and leads for the sake of the Gospel. This impresses Paul. 3.His vision. And if that isn't enough, Epaphras wants to see the Gospel advance. He has a heart "For those in Laodicea and Hierapolis." He's not concerned only for his hometown, but for the surrounding cities. Paul mentions two more friends: 14 Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas. You can read about Luke all throughout the book of Acts. He is the Author of Luke and Acts, and he is a key player in the Gospel advancing. He is the "beloved healer", probably extremely bright, intellectual, and competent. We don't know a ton about Demas. At the moment of the writing of Colossians, he is "a fellow worker with Paul"[ Philemon 1:24. ] Maybe that's all we need to know! Nonetheless, Paul needed commendable friends. Even so, Paul needs friends who will move the Gospel work forward. That leads us to our next point. Church Friendships (Colossians 4:15-16) Fourth, God saves us into Church friendships. These are friendships that develop around the mission of Christ, and that continue in the mission of Christ. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. 16 And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. Paul expected that the Colossians would pass along the things that he had said to the Laodiceans and to the Church in Nympha's house. Further, he expected that his letters would be read all over the Lycus Valley. The "letter from Laodicea" is probably Ephesians.[ Meynell, Colossians for You, 173. ] This means that his communication was intended to be read more broadly.[ Edit: In other words, the very words of Paul were to be taken not only as authoritative, but as the means through which other people would be converted to Christ. There were timeless, truths that have spanned beyond the Roman Empire into our day that were to be understood, applied, and lived out in the Church Age. ] Because the greetings spanned out across the Lycus Valley, we can also say, in a very indirect way, that Paul greets us from the first century through the letter to the Colossians. Pretty cool! Here is the key point: when you have deep, Gospel friendships, the relationships expand much further than just the individual. Illustration: The Gospel brings you into a sort of web of friendships. Whatever you do in one friendship affects all the rest. We can see this very clearly with Paul, but we usually don't consider the ways that we are at center-points of our web of friendships. The Christian is called to have Jesus at the center of all of his or her friendships, and that necessarily connects you to the rest of the body of Christ. That leads to our fifth point. Collapsing Friendships (Colossians 4:17) Fifth, and briefly, Collapsing friends. These are people who are struggling in Christian ministry and are very tempted to give up. We are not to see these people as projects or as lost causes, but to follow Paul's examples in the following way: 17 And say to Archippus, “See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.” Maybe Archippus was just beginning in ministry (Phil. 1:2), or maybe there was a particular issue that was leading him to feel like he couldn't fulfill his ministry. Either way, Paul singled out this man and called the Colossian Church to reaffirm their desire for him to fulfill his ministry. Paul, at the end of his own life says this in 2 Timothy 4: 6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:6-8). Paul knows that it is not how a minister starts his ministry that really matters, but how one finishes. All along the way, there will be people in your life who will struggle to finish well. We are called to encourage them. That leads us to our final point. Current Friendships (Colossians 4:18) Sixth, and finally, Paul affirms his friendships with the Colossians. 18 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you. Paul knows that his personal voice matters to the Colossians. He pulls back the curtain and says something to help the Colossians feel, know and believe that Paul is for them because God is for them. Application: a.What kinds of friends do you need? (Ask God for this) b.What kind of friend are you? (Ask your friends about this) c.What kinds of friends have you had in the past? (Praise God for this!) d.What kind of friend will you be in the future? (Ask God about this) e.What do I appreciate most about God's friendship? (Praise God for this!) Testimony & Baptism So ends the book of Colossians. We are going to transition now into two things. 1.Testimony: We are going to show a short recap of testimonies from people who have been encouraged by the message of Colossians. Then, 2.Baptism: We are going to see a baptism together. Water baptism, intended for true believers who have been saved by the work of Christ, is an act of obedience and a visual demonstration of a person's union with Christ in the likeness of His death and resurrection. It signifies that the power of sin is broken, vividly depicting a believer's newness of life. Key Texts: Mt 28:19- 20; Acts 2:41; 8:34-39; Rom 6:3-11. a. The person being baptized will share their testimony, be baptized and then we will celebrate the end of this series with one final song of worship. Let's join together in celebrating what God has done here at FCBC in the past 3-4 months.

In this final episode on prayer we will look at instructions on how we are to be devoted to prayer.  There are many examples how we are to be praying for the rest of the saints.  Both to persevere in trails as well as in furthering the the faith and proclaiming the gospel.  Even Paul asked for prayer so that words would be given to him to speak the gospel.Passages Covered:  Acts 2:42-43, 6:2-4, 14:21-23; Romans 12:9-13, 14:15-23; 1 Timothy 4:1-5; 1 Corinthians ch 8; Romans 15:3-31; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-25; Mathew 5:44-48; Luke 6:27-35; Ephesians 6:18-20; Colossians 4:1-6; 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2; James 5:13-20; Philippians 1:3-5 

Christ Jesus is on His way coming!!!  You can reach out to us on gospel2020project@gmail.com Visit the following links to subscribe and connect with us! Telegram link https://t.me/PastorChris_teachings Google Podcast link https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9yaGFwc29keS5yZWN Apple Podcast link https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/word-of-life-podcast/id1507564447   *Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God* (Matthew 22:29). The knowledge of God's word is so important. Jesus said to the Jews, *“...Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God”* (Matthew 22:29). What Jesus said to the Jews back then is still very relevant in our day. It becomes even worse when one is a minister, a leader, or a teacher of the Word, and doesn't know the Scriptures. When Jesus made the assertion in our opening scripture, think about the fact that He was addressing the leaders that the whole nation of Israel trusted to give them the knowledge of God. So much trust was reposed in them, but it turned out they were ignorant. The same leaders of the Jews were the ones who, ignorantly, condemned Jesus Christ. They called the Lord all derogatory names and discouraged the people from believing in Him. They condemned Him to death, and before their very eyes, Jesus was reviled, insulted, assaulted, and crucified. They called Jesus a deceiver, but they were the ones deceiving and being deceived. No wonder Paul, in one of his writings, said, *“The experts of our day haven't a clue about what this eternal plan is. If they had, they wouldn't have killed the Master of the God-designed life on a cross”* (1 Corinthians 2:8 MSG). Paul had his share of these malicious attacks fomented by the Jewish leaders. On one occasion, he and his colleagues were in Thessalonica to preach. As Paul preached in their synagogue, some Gentiles and many important women believed his message. But the Jewish leaders were offended, and then incited some insurrectionists to start a riot in the city (Acts 17). They were ignorant of God's plan of salvation for the Gentiles. Lack of knowledge of the Scriptures makes people do a lot of terrible things. Even Paul alluded to the danger of ignorance and how it led him to persecute the Church before his conversion: *“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief”* (1 Timothy 1:12-13). Get to know the Word; study the Scriptures for yourself like the Bible says: *“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth”* (2 Timothy 2:15). *PRAYER* Dear Father, by your Word, you lead and guide me into the destiny you planned for me. I live confidently and joyfully always, knowing that you're working with me and in me to fulfil your perfect will. As I study the Scriptures, the eyes of my understanding are enlightened to know you more, in Jesus' Name. Amen. *FURTHER STUDY:* *Proverbs 18:15 AMPC* The mind of the prudent is ever getting knowledge, and the ear of the wise is ever seeking (inquiring for and craving) knowledge. *John 5:39* Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. *2 Timothy 2:15* Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 1-YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN Ephesians 1:1-14 & Isaiah 11-12 2-YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN Timothy 6:1-16 & Jeremiah 41   To give towards sponsoring free copies please kindly click the below link  https://buy.stripe.com/bIYcOj8vQepC3eM6op

We're turning back the clock in this episode as we dive into the stores that defined our childhoods. Although these stores may no longer be around, they bring back fond memories of the times spent in them hunting for video games and toys, playing with gadgets we couldn't afford, and renting our favorite movies. Even Paul enjoyed reminiscing about his time visiting stores like Babbage and Toys R Us, and we all know how much he loves nostalgia. Join us on this nostalgia filled episode and let us know which stores were part of your childhood. #podcast #nostalgia #popculture https://linktr.ee/MagicCityPodcast Appease the Algorithm Gods! Hit us with a LIKE! Comment and Subscribe! Follow us on Instagram: Paul https://www.instagram.com/magiccitycomics/?hl=en Jimmy https://www.instagram.com/jmartcollectibles/?hl=en Jorge https://www.instagram.com/marvelpapi/?hl=en Check us out on TikTok. https://www.tiktok.com/@magiccitycomics --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/magic-city-podcast/support

Even Paul had haters and encountered counterfeit Christian's. Are we one of them?

“Passionate Living” Philippians 3:8-12 –08/27/21 Philippians 3: CHRIST OUR GOAL 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain[a] to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already attained,[b] or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me 8)Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ  “Yet indeed” or “Yea Doubtless” (Kjv) In the construction of the Greek language Paul is making a passionate statement, a plea as it were to the Philippian Church about the force & passion with which he was pursuing Christ as an example for them to follow…it reads “yea, therefore, at least, EVEN” Paul wanted to Leave no doubt at as to His Pursuit in life. “Count” The same verb (counted) as used in vs. 7 …here it is in the present tense showing continuous action in present time. Paul had come to the steadfast CONVICTION that any supposed gain in the world he might attain was but total loss if He failed to GAIN CHRIST “loss”-- Paul continually held a tenacious& habitual focus & Mind-set against anything that might come between Him & the goal of Christ, so he counts EVERYTHING  personally to himself  as a Loss, except knowing Christ Acts 20:24 But I count my life of no value to myself, so that I may finish my course[a] and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of God's grace. Romans 8:18 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. “excellence,excellency”   of  a Higher, supreme , surpassing degree       8)Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, …speaks of the relationship that Paul developed with Jesus thru intimate communion & companionship with Him, He came to Know Jesus Heart & will; through  time spent in His (Jesus) presence I Cr. 2:2 2 For I didn't think it was a good idea to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 1:17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father,[a] would give you a spirit[b] of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. II Peter 1:3 His[a] divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by[b] His own glory and goodness. I Jn. 5:20 20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know the true One.[a] We are in the true One—that is, in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. 16:26 What shall it profit a man 13:44 Parable of treasure hidden in a field   for whom I have suffered the loss of all things  this speaks of ALL Paul gave up  at his Damascus conversion. Paul was brought up in what we would say was a ‘closed community'—TARSUS because he & his family were wealthy & only the wealthy could live there. Paul left a life of wealth & status to become the Gentile/Missionary Apostle who made tents to get by. This was NOT all , as his parents basically  disowned their son, because he left Jewry …He had been supported by his folks  studying under Gamaliel at the U. of TARSUS, as an up & coming Priest in the Jewish Synagogue. that I may gain Christ   Not Paul's salvation, BUT appropriating in His Life the graces & nature of Christ into his whole being…GAIN= (Kedaino) an acquisition made from shunning evil 9) and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; “Be found” more like ..'to turn out actually to be'( like grk. Expression here Gal. 2:17 we ourselves are found to be sinners). The idea here is that of a REVELATION of Character ,,that is, Paul LONGS to demonstrate in His Life that He is IN Christ…He wants others to observe this in his nature not having my own righteousness, ..The idea is not having a righteousness  ANY righteousness that could be called MY own…Paul wanted to completely divorce himself of any thought or effort that he was ‘A LAW Keeper' by his own efforts. He desired for men to see the Righteousness of a Life Hidden in Christ produced by Holy Spirit. 9) and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;   Romans 10:2-6 2 I can testify about them that they have zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 Because they disregarded the righteousness from God and attempted to establish their own righteousness, they have not submitted themselves to God's righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end[a] of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. 5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is from the law: The one who does these things will live by them.[b]6 But the righteousness that comes from faith speaks like this: Do not say in your heart, “Who will go up to heaven?”[c] that is, to bring Christ down Romans 3:28 28 For we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. Romans 9:30 30 What should we say then? Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained righteousness—namely the righteousness that comes from faith. Romans 4:1-16 Titus 3:5 He saved us— not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit. 8:3,10:4 faith in Christ, that Righteousness that is authored in Christ, which Paul now nourishes & maintains . This Faith is furnished to All believers & appropriates the Blessings which flow from Grace. I Cor. 1:30 20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know the true One.[a] We are in the true One—that is, in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. II Cor. 5:17 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things[a] have come. Vs. 10,11) that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain[a] to the resurrection from the dead. “that I may know Him”  ..that  is to come to know by experience, an experiential knowing, or knowledge….Paul wants to come to a place of knowing Jesus in the FULNESS of EXPERIENCE that only comes by an intimate relationship With Him ..TO FULLY KNOW Him!    I Jn. 3:2 Dear friends, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him because we will see Him as He is.   Vs. 10,11) that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain[a] to the resurrection from the dead. “the power of His resurrection,” Paul wants to experience the SAME Power which Raised Christ from the dead surging through His whole being, overcoming all sin in his life & showing forth the very nature of Christ for all to see…POWER= DYNAMIS… power, ability, physical or moral, as residing in a person or thing;..power in action, force, a strength, violence, virtue, mighty power, miracle working power. In this context the meaning is a POWER that overcomes resistance. Romans 1:16 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel [a]of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. Romans 6:4 4 Therefore we were buried with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in a new way[a] of life. II Cr. 4:10 10 We always carry the death of Jesus in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. I Peter 1:3 3 Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead 1:18-20 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 3:20-21 20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. 3:20-21 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.“fellowship of His sufferings,” = a joint participation…these refer to the sufferings of Christ for righteousness sake while here on earth….II Cor. 11:22-33 Paul's ‘resume of suffering' 1:24 24 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, I Pe. 4:1-2 Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. 2 As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. “being conformed to His death,” LITERALLY “ To Bring to the same form with some other person”…we already saw this Grk word Before in Phil. 2:5-8  in the great KENOSIS(an emptying out)passage…Phil 2:6(being in the form of God)= Form(morphe)…here 3:10 ‘made conformable, being conformed' (symmorphizo)…morfe/morphizo are of same root Vs. 10,11) that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain[a] to the resurrection from the dead. When These  Four Essentials are evident In Our Lives then we will CONSTANTLY be Made CONFORMABLE To Christ's Death : To show evidence by the very life we live To BE IN CHRIST By Coming To KNOW HIM Better All the time, a consistent deepening of relationship with HIM By Experiencing the same Dynamis that raised Christ from the dead surging through our being By Becoming Joint-Participants in Christ's Sufferings for Righteousness sake   **BOTTOM  LINEJ!! Paul's desire was that he might come to KNOW His Lord Jesus so intimately & with such Resurrection DUNAMIS operating  through His Being, along with a joint-participation  in Christ's sufferings that he would become both as to his inner heart  life & & as to His outward expression of just the same, like Jesus in respect to Christ's death , not just physically, but as we already showed in Phil. 2:7a KENOSIS..a death to self & denial of all things selfish …for the Blessing of others…THIS is what Paul strove for!!Paul was laying his life down in conformity& submission to the spirit & temperament of Christ's life, in all manner of lowliness  & meekness…both in Life & eventually in physical death   Vs. 10,11) that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain[a] to the resurrection from the dead.  “If  By Any Means”  This is not an expression of doubt but rather AUTHENTIC humility…Paul shows a modest yet assured Hope. “May/might  attain” =Greek language means “to arrive at a GOAL” “resurrection” exanastasis….This is the only place in the NT where this word is used…Literally from ‘OUT OF' …translation “Out Resurrection from(among) the dead”. Paul may be referring to the future resurrection of the physical body of the saint (I Cr. 15,Jn. 5:29,Lk. 20:35).However, This  more likely refers to a spiritual Resurrection         10,11)that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain[a] to the resurrection from the dead.   2:4-8  But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, A resurrection…out from a state of sin where one is dead in trespasses, to a LIFE divinely Empowered motivating our every action Also refers to the Rapture   12 Not that I have already attained or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. “ Not that I have already attained” The conclusion, here is Paul has experienced to a measure a ‘Conformity To Christ's Death” (see points 1-4 above), yet he has yet to Appropriate= I may lay hold of  these to Their FULLEST MEASURE in His life….He is always looking to increase in these attributes…refers back to vs. 10 (To KNOW Him)   Am already perfected/either were already perfect…Perfect (teleioō) not perfect in the literal sense(sinless), But complete, meaning ‘Spiritually Mature' Paul is stating that he is STILL seeking Spiritual Growth & Maturity, He has not stopped or become stagnant or indifferent spiritually ‘But I press on/follow after' (dee-oko)  TO PURSUE…Paul has in mind. the metaphor of a Greek runner running in a race. He is pressing on to a FIXED Goal, keeping up the chase as it were with much Passion Rendering…Not that I have already (LAMBANO)or am already perfected but I press on that I may but I press on that I may lay hold(apprehend) of  (KATALAMBANO) that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of (Apprehended) (KATALAMBANOED) Me Forceful, passionate language…an INTENSE pursuit Lambano= accept, take, receive, obtain Katalambano = more forceful, to seize to “RUN DOWN”…see football highlight: Dk Metcalf runs down Budda BakerJ 12 Not that I have already attained or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Good translation” Grasping ever more firmly that purpose for which Christ grasps me” –JB. Phillips   1:16 To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:--- This is what Paul was Apprehended/laid hold of FOR & In turn he wants to Apprehend Christ ( verses Phil. 3:10-11—ABSOLUTE CHRISTLIKENESS) I Tim. 6:12 Fight the good fight for the faith; take hold of eternal life that you were called to and have made a good confession about in the presence of many witnesses. II Peter 1:5 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, 63:1 God, You are my God; I eagerly seek You. I thirst for You; my body faints for You in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water. 84:2 my heart & flesh cry out for God, Ps. 42:1 as the deer panteth after water so my soul longs for thee Proverbs 4:18 The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday. HEART REFLECTIONS: THOUGHT: Could it be that much of the church today over the last 50 years has been so busy showing the world how much we can do for Christ and lost sight of how the N.T. Church of Paul's day was just content to demonstrate to the world how much He could do through them List out all your positive attributes & gifts today…then get alone with ABBA & examine your heart to see if you are trusting Your Gifts or HIS Power As a Christian today, you have Christ Living in your heart, Have you taken the next step to really GAIN CHRIST fully? THINK: Knowing ABOUT Christ has Value, But Knowing HIM brings Vitality As MINISTERS…..we want /need 3 Things POWER = The Power of the Resurrection that eradicates all worry & despair Compassion =will come through sharing HIS sufferings (I Cr. 13:4) Purity = through Conformity to His Death…to accept the judgment & refuse to let ‘dead things' live any longer in our lives  

Day 133 Today's Reading: Romans 16 Occasionally on Sundays after I'd finished the sermon, we'd completed the last song, and I'd said the final amen, I'd realize I forgot to announce something to the congregation. I'd have to tell our sound technician to turn the mic back on so I could tell the people what I forgot. I'm in good company. Even Paul forgot something in Romans and had to essentially tell the sound technician to turn his mic back on. Today's reading of our final chapter in Romans is one of Paul's most overlooked and undervalued. They are words spoken after the microphone is turned off. Look with me at Romans 15:33. It seems like a great ending prayer for this amazing Epistle. Paul usually ends his Epistles with short doxologies. Here he writes, “Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.” “Amen” means it's over, time to go, time to eat. Then Paul stops everyone and says, “Wait, wait, wait! I forgot something. Turn the mic back on. I missed a huge announcement!” And then in one of the most amazing chapters that doesn't get its props, Paul goes on for the next twenty-seven verses before he gives his second amen. Here's the second doxology, the second closing: “To the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen” (Romans 16:27). Between those two amens Paul mentions thirty-three names! Go back through today's reading and count them all. He starts with “our sister Phoebe who is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea” (verse 1) and spends twenty-four verses listing people who he wants to recognize. Thirty-three names of people who helped him in ministry. Thirty-three names who made Paul's ministry possible. He's recognizing them with a “there's no way we do what we do without these people.” One of the greatest coaches of any sports franchise or university has to be John Wooden of UCLA. He coached his teams to ten national championships in twelve years. He had an 800-winning percentage. He is an icon. In A Game Plan for Life: The Power of Mentoring, he wrote "When one of my players scored, he knew he was supposed to point to the teammate who had passed him the ball or made the block that allowed that basket to happen. It wasn't about deflecting praise, but about sharing it with everyone who was working hard as a part of the team." Today many athletes thump their chests while the team has to follow them around as they carry on without giving any recognition to anyone who helped them get there. When was the last time you saw a defensive end sack a quarterback and then turn around and point to every defensive lineman who made the hole so he can get in? Never! He stands in the middle of the field as if it were his talent alone that gave him that moment and forgot to point to all the players who made it happen for him. Wooden said his dad taught him, “There is nothing you know that you haven't learned from someone else. . . . He . . . was reminding us to always be thankful for each lesson an individual offers, wittingly or unwittingly, because those lessons become a kind of borrowed experience.” I found this short course in human relations from an unknown, but very wise, author: The six most important words: I admit I made a mistake The five most important words: You did a good job The four most important words: What do you think? The three most important words: I love you The two most important words: Thank you The one most important word: We The least important word: I After Ronald Reagan became the fortieth president, he put a plaque on his desk to remind him of an important piece of wisdom: “There is no limit to how far a person may go as long as he doesn't care who gets the credit.”

When conflicts arise, how do you handle it? In Acts 15 we see Jews and Gentiles, both part of the body of Christ, learning how to live with each other in spite of differing opinions and strong convictions. We can almost hear the volume on these pages being turned up! Even Paul and Barnabas, partners in ministry, experienced conflict. Yet both men were faithful and God worked through them to expand and strengthen the Church. How can we be united to further to cause of Christ, even when we are so very different? In this episode, Shelley reminds us not to lose sight of the real enemy and the true battle. Our goal is to win souls, not arguments. The Bible says that the world will know we are Christians by our love. “I need to ask myself as I pick my battles, is this a hill I want to die on? The only hill I should wish to die on is Calvary’s hill, at the foot of the Cross. This is non-negotiable.” To join a Harvest women’s small group, go to virtue.harvest.org/studies Learn more about Virtue women’s ministry at Harvest Christian Fellowship by going to virtue.harvest.org/about/.Support the show: https://harvest.org/donate/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.